Wisconsin thoughts from Nebraska: Why Leonhard stuck with Mertz as bowl streak continues

LINCOLN, Neb. — Wisconsin trailed Nebraska by 11 factors when the third quarter ended Saturday at Memorial Stadium. On condition that the Badgers had mounted zero landing drives through the span of 5 quarters courting to a loss at Iowa final week, you’d be excused for believing the Badgers had been buried.

However fairly than reaching one other low second in a season stuffed with turmoil, Wisconsin battled again to safe a 15-14 come-from-behind victory towards Nebraska. Listed here are six Wisconsin takeaways from the sport.

1. Quarterback Graham Mertz has absorbed his share of hits on the sphere and from followers on social media and message boards. However his combat Saturday late within the sport was admirable and a giant purpose Wisconsin escaped to defeat Nebraska for a ninth consecutive time.

By halftime, Mertz had accomplished simply 4-of-10 passes for 19 yards. He additionally threw an terrible interception to Nebraska defensive again Malcolm Hartzog on an underthrown cross supposed for receiver Skyler Bell that Mertz stated was affected by windy circumstances. That play led to a Nebraska landing and a 7-0 Cornhuskers lead. Wisconsin interim coach Jim Leonhard stated he had conversations with offensive coordinator Bobby Engram about doubtlessly pulling Mertz in favor of backup quarterback Chase Wolf however selected to go together with Mertz.

“We preferred the look in his eyes, what he was saying, what he was speaking,” Leonhard stated. “He nonetheless had quite a lot of confidence within the plan. He had quite a lot of confidence in his capacity to make a play within the second half. He was resilient, fought by means of it. We would have liked a spark in a giant means. I’m glad we bought one after we did.”

Mertz stated discussions about being pulled “by no means actually affected” him. He gave Wisconsin that spark with a 10-yard landing cross to Bell to trim the deficit to 14-9 (the two-point conversion try supposed for Bell fell incomplete). Two drives later, after the protection pressured a three-and-out, he threw a 27-yard completion to operating again Isaac Guerendo all the way down to the Nebraska 7-yard line and polished off the drive with a 1-yard quarterback sneak to provide the Badgers their first lead of the day.

2. Working again Chez Mellusi had been sidelined since Oct. 8 towards Northwestern due to a proper wrist damage. He returned Saturday at a important time for Wisconsin as a result of beginning operating again Braelon Allen continues to take care of quite a lot of accidents. Mellusi’s presence gave Allen a chance to take much less of the load towards Nebraska, and that must be the case once more subsequent week towards Minnesota.

Allen injured his left shoulder towards Purdue and has tried to brace himself for contact to the world throughout video games. On his closing carry towards Nebraska, a 4-yard loss, he sustained a proper leg damage and wanted help from trainers as he limped off the sphere. He didn’t enter the sport on Wisconsin’s go-ahead scoring drive. Allen acknowledged after the sport that he was “hurting” however praised what Mellusi and Guerendo gave the workforce.

A Wisconsin operating again had eclipsed the 100-yard speeding mark towards Nebraska in each matchup because the 2014 sport, when Melvin Gordon stampeded for 408 yards. Though Wisconsin didn’t have a tailback attain triple digits Saturday, the run sport was efficient. Mellusi carried 21 instances for 98 yards, whereas Allen added 18 carries for 92 yards. A 3-man rotation helped Wisconsin rush for 235 yards, with Mellusi main the cost.

“It was superior to see him again on the market,” Allen stated. “A man who’s simply been by means of a lot and is six weeks out of surgical procedure out right here going for nearly 100, it’s wonderful to see.”

3. Nebraska’s offense has given Wisconsin’s protection suits lately. Final season, quarterback Adrian Martinez threw for 351 yards. In 2019, the Cornhuskers gained 493 yards of whole offense. However Wisconsin stuffed Nebraska on Saturday, holding the Cornhuskers to 171 yards. That got here on the heels of Wisconsin’s limiting Iowa to 146 yards of offense final week.

Aside from one drive, wherein Nebraska went 79 yards for a landing and a 14-3 lead, the protection was wonderful. No drive was larger for the protection than when Nebraska took possession at its personal 11-yard line with 4:58 remaining within the sport and clinging to a 14-9 benefit. Wisconsin pressured a three-and-out to get the ball again with 3:11 left, establishing the game-winning rating.

“We did what we wanted to do,” Leonhard stated. “We restricted yards. We bought off the sphere in quite a lot of important conditions.”

4. The largest defensive hiccup got here when outdoors linebacker Nick Herbig, Wisconsin’s greatest participant on protection, was disqualified for focusing on through the third quarter when his shoulder linked with Nebraska quarterback Casey Thompson’s helmet as he slid to the bottom on a run up the center. Herbig entered the day ranked third within the FBS in whole sacks (11) and tied for seventh in tackles for loss (15.5).

“Clearly, I don’t prefer it,” Leonhard stated. “I didn’t get an ideal look. It seemed to me like he was attempting to keep away from contact. They known as it. They confirmed it. I have to get a greater look earlier than I get too mad.”

The Huge Ten can request a assessment from the nationwide coordinator of officers for a second-half focusing on foul to find out whether or not a participant is cleared to play within the first half of the subsequent sport. In any other case, Herbig will miss the primary half of Wisconsin’s regular-season finale towards Minnesota.

Herbig was ejected from the sphere through the fourth quarter after he was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for operating onto the sphere with out a helmet to rejoice Wisconsin’s landing that introduced the Badgers to inside 14-9.

5. This was an emotional week for Wisconsin’s gamers, who discovered Monday morning that former Badgers vast receiver Devin Chandler had died after being among the many taking pictures victims at Virginia on Sunday night time. Chandler, a member of the 2020 recruiting class, entered the switch portal in the course of his second season at Wisconsin in October 2021. Wisconsin gamers took the sphere Saturday with a decal of his initials on the again of their helmets.

Gamers stated they carried out with ideas of Chandler on their minds.

“The message was what would Devin do to strap it up another time, to get out right here another time?” offensive lineman Tanor Bortolini stated. “For us to have the ability to go on the market and play the way in which we did, I hope we made him proud.”

6. Though it was removed from fairly, the efficiency highlighted the toughness that helped to make Wisconsin bowl-eligible for a twenty first consecutive season. It has not been a simple season for the Badgers, who’ve endured the firing of coach Paul Chryst 5 video games into the season, a number of on-field roadblocks and the demise of their former teammate.

Nonetheless, Wisconsin is now 6-5, together with 4-2 underneath Leonhard, and is assured of some extra weeks collectively throughout bowl prep. The large objectives Wisconsin established at first of the season are gone, however how the workforce has responded is noteworthy. That ought to go a good distance for Leonhard as he continues to state his case to earn the everlasting job.

“Every thing this workforce has overcome off the sphere, that was what got here up on the sphere at present,” Mertz stated. “There’s so many feelings, emotions that guys have needed to take care of this yr. We had been speaking about it as a workforce on the resort. There’s so many various issues which have occurred to us this yr that might simply have buried us and made us simply fold. The fellows on daily basis go about their enterprise. It’s actually cool to see how guys come collectively and need to succeed collectively.”

(High photograph: Dylan Widger / USA At present)