All-Out Blitz Week 13: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers

BadgerBlitz.com brings back its All-Out Blitz weekly series for the 2024 season, where you can find everything you need to know about Wisconsin’s upcoming opponent. We look at UW’s tenth opponent in the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who the Badgers will travel to play Saturday afternoon in Lincoln at 2:30 p.m. on BTN.

QUICK PROGRAM FACTS

Head Coach: Matt Rhule (57-55 career record, second season at Nebraska)

Nebraska All Time Record: 887-404-38 (.667)

2024 Record: 5-5 (2-5 Big Ten)

Rankings: N/A

Series vs. Wisconsin: 4-13

Nebraska’s gradual decline over the course of this season is parallel with the decline of their offense.

Through the first five games, in which the team began 4-1, the offense averaged 405.4 yards per game. Over the last five, the 1-4 Cornhuskers are averaging just 294 yards per game.

This prompted the demoting of offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield, and promotion of Dana Holgorsen, prior to last week’s loss to USC.

It was the hope that Holgorsen, a former disciple of Mike Leach, could reinvigorate freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola.

It’s hard to tell if the former No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 class is responsible for the offense’s drop-off, or merely a victim of it, but all we know is that his season has fallen off of a cliff.

Through the first five games, he threw for nine touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 70% of his passes. In the five games since, he’s down to two touchdowns and eight interceptions, completing just 60% of his passes.

Raiola hasn’t received much help from his receiving core. He never had a true No. 1 receiver, even when the offense looked good, and nobody is stepping up now. No Husker receiver has reached 100 yards in a game since the season opener against UTEP.

They added two starters via the transfer portal — Isaiah Neyor (Texas) and Jahmal Banks (Wake Forest) — but both have been solid at best.

Wisconsin’s pass defense, which has only improved as the season has gone on, should create problems for Raiola and co.

They held Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel without a touchdown for the first time all season in what felt like a triumphant defensive performance, despite the 16-13 loss.

Beyond the strong coverage of cornerbacks Ricardo Hallman and Nyzier Fourqurean, what was most impressive about Wisconsin’s defense was how their line was able to generate consistent pressure on Gabriel.

It’ll be key for the Badgers to shut down Nebraska’s passing attack, because their running game isn’t particularly dangerous.

They rotate between three backs on a regular basis, led by Dante Dowdell, who averages a team-high 12 carries per game. Sophomore Emmett Johnson received more carries than Dowdell in the most recent outing against USC and could be ascending up the depth chart. Regardless, no Nebraska back has been a consistent threat.

This will be the first game Wisconsin plays since offensive coordinator Phil Longo was fired on Sunday.

Fickell wasn’t willing to name a replacement play caller, instead alluding to a “collaborative” operation.

However that turns out, it must lead to some sort of reinvigoration. Over Wisconsin’s three-game losing streak, the offense is averaging just 261.6 total yards per game.

The offensive incompetence was especially frustrating against Oregon, a game in which the defense had their best performance of the season.

The offense needs to go back to basics. All season, they’ve been at their best when the offensive line opens up running lanes and allows for a balanced game plan.

Running back Tawee Walker struggled mightily against Penn State and Iowa, rushing for just 111 yards over those two games, but rebounded with a 97-yard performance last week against Oregon.

The front line will have a tough matchup against Nebraska’s defensive line trio of Ty Robinson, Jamari Butler and Nash Hutmacher, who lead the 20th-ranked rushing defense in the nation.

The production of Wisconsin’s running game will be key, because they simply can’t rely on quarterback Braedyn Locke, who’s coming off of a 96-yard passing performance against Oregon. He’s thrown an interception in all seven of his starts this season, bringing his season touchdown-interception ratio to 9-9.

Locke will try to take advantage of a Nebraska secondary that suffered a crushing blow earlier this week, with the announcement that Tommi Hill would miss the rest of the season due to a foot injury.

The best starter besides Hill is Malcolm Herzog, the team leader in interception (four) who primarily plays in the slot. Although the biggest priority for Wisconsin will be safety Isaac Gifford, who leads the team in tackles with 59 and can manage to fly all over the field.

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