The Wisconsin Badgers have dropped another game after losing to the Nebraska Cornhuskers in an uninspired game.
The Badgers made multiple mental errors throughout the game and the offense in particular looked to be having difficulties with communication. Perfection or even improvement was not expected right away out of the Badgers, but the Nebraska loss caused the team to go backwards in some areas. The first game for the Wisconsin Badgers without offensive coordinator Phil Longo was not necessarily what the fans and staff had hoped for.
Big Ten Network commentator and former Michigan Wolverines tight end Jake Butt put it best when he stated, “The story has been the Huskers dominating.” Nebraska overpowered the Wisconsin Badgers in many aspects and while the offense showed life at times, the line struggled to win pushes and the quarterback situation again looked ugly. Braedyn Locke looked largely inaccurate during the loss and miss a few notable wide open receivers for the Badgers.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers looked like a revived team on offense after severely struggling the past few weeks. Quarterback Dylan Raiola in particular had been someone who was struggling for Nebraska offensively, but had quite the performance against the Badgers. Raiola had arguably one of his best performances of the year and certainly one of his most efficient games this season.
What Went Right, What Went Wrong For the Wisconsin Badgers Against the Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Wisconsin Badgers may have done some positive things, but overall the game was filled with uncharacteristic mistakes on both sides of the football.
On defense, Wisconsin looked like a chicken without a head at times with players running around yards away from the real assignment. Nebraska had displayed one of the weaker offenses the past few weeks, but broke off multiple big-time plays against Wisconsin. The Badgers really had a bad time in coverage as Raiola was throwing to wide open receivers without a defender on the screen multiple times during the game.
Aside from the coverage issues, what really went wrong for the Wisconsin Badgers was the lack of pressure the team generated. Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders controversially stated that the Buffaloes lost to Nebraska because Raiola stayed upright.
However, Sanders was not exactly lying since Raiola is a completely different quarterback when forced to make plays happen himself with his legs or his arm. While that might sound like a knock against Raiola, the majority of quarterbacks play flustered when pressure comes flying at all directions. Raiola is someone who plays that way in particular, which can be seen in some of the Nebraska losses this season.
On offense, the Wisconsin Badgers again struggled to break anything major off against the Cornhuskers defense. Nebraska notably has a strong defensive line, which largely kept the run-game shutdown, and a solid secondary as well. Where Wisconsin really struggled on offense, however, was in do-or-die situations where the team only needed a handful of yards to move forward.
Wisconsin has one final chance left to earn a bowl game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, a team that can turn-up the heat on offense.
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