Bigdsrip

Badger fan here, just thought I would add a little context from a UW POV. The general feeling in Madison is that this is the best squad that we have had in years. There are several reasons for this but the overarching theme is that stability has finally returned to the program. The last few years haven't been bad but it required some duct tape to get us through them. This year we are finally playing with a fully functioning program again. -First and foremost at UW will always be the lines. The D line has managed to come through the turnover without much drop off and every one is back from last year. We are now in year four of running the 3-4 D and the roster is fully adapted now. The D-line doesn't get a ton of pub but they keep the traffic off our LBs and allow them to flow to the play. The 3 starters have all started for 2/3 years on top 5 defenses. There is good, experienced depth behind them as well. This is the strength of a loaded D. -Despite the cliched talking points, the O line has not been up to UW standards the last 2-3 years. We have won a lot of games despite them, not because of them, since Bret left. A combination of career ending injuries, recruiting misses and a misguided change to our S&C program meant UW was working with a patch work, undersized and weak line. Last season we started 7 different offensive line combos and won 11 games. The key this year is not only the returning starters, it is the fact that they have all been through a real Wisconsin S&C program now. As Nebraska fans know better than most, it takes time to build up the quality and culture of an offensive line group and Chryst has been here for 3 summers now. We expect a huge jump in the quality of the O line this season. -The skill guys are actually skilled. UW has been trudging along with a bunch of walk ons ever since Nick Toon left. Abby, Erickson and Fumagalli were all one man shows in the passing game. This year we expect to have multiple weapons. Fumagalli is obviously back, as is an improved Jazz Peavy, but the young skill guys have everyone really excited. All the reports so far are that the WRs have been making plays all camp. And not just the top guy, there are 5 first or second year players that look like they can contribute this season. That is the key to Paul Chryst's offense, balance, and he has been playing with one hand tied behind his back since his return. In his 6 seasons as Offensive Coordinator before he left his offenses put up 5 of the top 10 passing seasons in Badger history and 4 of the top 10 offenses overall, including his last two which put up over 40 points per game. He loves to use multiple personnel in a wide range of shifting formations. Obviously that isn't nearly as effective if the D only needs to worry about one WR or TE on the whole team. Combined with the expected improvement on the O line, the offense looks like it can finally be counted on to pull its weight. -The D has been in the top 10 for four years now. I expect that to go to five for five after this season. The loss of Watt, Beigel and Cichy hurt but there are still a ton of playmakers on this squad. Chris Orr started ahead of Cichy but he was hurt on literally the first snap of the season and everyone forgot about him. The OLBs are both seniors with a lot of quality experience even if they haven't been starters. Leon Jacobs is one to keep an eye on as he is the best athlete on the team and has been flashing in camp. The secondary loses two starters but everyone seems to think they will be improved. Nick Nelson is a transfer who the players have been raving about for a year now. He is being talked about like he is only going to be here for one year before the NFL calls. Overall the talent level on this D is ahead of where it was last year, which is a scary thought considering how good that group was. Remember Watt was only known for his brothers at this point last year as everyone was wondering if he could fill Joe the Show's shoes. This D is bigger than any one player and has been able to overcome much bigger losses than they face this year without a drop off. -Jim Leonhard is the X factor. I suppose most Nebraska fans have little idea who he is since he played before the merger but he is a Wisconsin legend. Like one of the top 10 players to ever come through our program legend. He walked on from a town of 115 people in the Northwoods ('Tiny Tony Wisconsin' as every announcer said) and looks a little too small to play sophomore ball. He left Wisconsin as the NCAA record holder with 10 INTs in a season and the B1G career punt return leader, before playing 10 years in the NFL as a 5'8 175 lb safety. He pretty much followed Rex Ryan around, who runs a very similar 3-4 D to UW, and was known around the league as a coach on the field. There will be some kinks to work out but he is going to be a very, very good coach. If he isn't in the NFL in 5 years it is only because he is as Wisconsin as one could possibly be. I think most Badger fans fully expect him to take over for Chryst in a decade or so if he isn't in the NFL. I know it is ridiculous after one year of coaching at any level, but Leonhard has proven time and again that to underestimate him is even more ridiculous. Leonhard Mic'd Up I could go on (IS IT GAMETIME YET!!!) but I think you get the point. Even if it didn't really show in the records the team took a hit from the coaching turnover, but Chryst has had time to right the ship and return us to the Wisconsin Way (or Nebraska Way if we want to be honest). There is depth and skill on this squad the likes of which we haven't seen since 2011. Basically we expect the D to hold serve and be one of the top units in CFB while the O should take a huge leap forward and get back to Chryst's standards (meaning a balanced pass/run ratio around 200/200 yards and 35-40 points a week). That is why we are so excited in Madison and the CFB media is catching on. It would be one thing if the only buzz was from one scrimmage under the lights on BTN but the buzz has been consistent throughout camp. Every national writer that has come through, as well as the local guys, have been shocked at the talent level and said look out for UW as a CFP contender. Obviously it could all go sideways and we look stupid for our optimism but right now anything less than 11-1 would be a massive disappointment.

The states are similar in many ways but Nebraska is still by far the smallest state in the B1G. Wisconsin has nearly 6 million people in it and one D-1 football program. Iowa is closer at just over 3 million but that is still over a million more than Nebraska's 1.88. There are 3.3 million people in the Twin Cities alone, and that isn't even getting into the big states East of Chicago. It is not a small obstacle to play in a conference where most schools are in states that have 3-5 times the population of Nebraska.

It is a heated rivalry, and the all time record is about as close as can be at 59-58-8 in Minnesota's favor, but recently it has not been a close match up. UW has won 12 straight and 19 of the last 21. Since Barry got here and turned things around the series is 21-5 to Wisconsin. The streak is gong to end sometime but this is not the year. Minnesota likes to run right you and has no deep threat at all. They will be lucky to score a TD on offense. What they do plays right into UW's strengths, plus this Badger team is really, really good and will be locked in for that one. I am personally much more worried about Purdue tomorrow. The Boilers like the quick, dink and dunk style passing game which has given UW some trouble this season as it takes away our biggest weapon (pass rush) and they have a couple guys that can score from anywhere. Purdue has nothing to lose and there will be no atmosphere what-so-ever, could be a trap game.

We will see. UW returns almost everyone next year. Lose Shelton, Biegel and Musso on D, Houston, Clement, Dare and Wheelright on O. Everyone else comes back (also two starting ILBs and our NT who didn't play on Sat). Paul Chryst is in his second season and had to really restock the roster after having 3 different head coaches in 3 years. Next year is the year that UW is going to be back to full strength and should be rocking and rolling. I don't think anyone is going to be blowing UW out next year, most will be hard pressed to win by 1. And Nebraska won't be getting us right off of the hardest stretch in program history either.

Just goes back to what a lot of Badger fans have said, the horror stories where a product of the results on the field more than anything. Shocking that when it is a decent game and you can be proud of your team how suddenly Madison is a great place. I think the loudness, or lack thereof, is because of a few things, mostly the fact that this was our 5th top 10 matchup of the season. Add to that the fact that it was Freakfest and that NU had yet to be even remotely competitive in Madison and you have a recipe for a distracted fan base. This has been an issue at UW for a while. The party comes first and we tend to blow out a lot of overmatched teams at home so if you aren't OSU, Michigan or if UW is a huge underdog, the crowd expects it to be over by Jump Around and the atmosphere isn't overly hyped. Camp Randall has a very high ceiling but on average isn't super crazy. I was a little disappointed myself that there wasn't more buzz in the air, now that NU has shown they can give us a game it should be better in future years.

I have to say I think it is more likely that UW loses to Northwestern than Nebraska beats OSU. Nebraska D really struggled containing the edge and got some gifts from UW's QBs that kept the game close. I see OSU's speed on the edge giving Nebraska fits and TA looked like he was running on fumes by the end of the game yesterday and looked pretty poor throughout (12-31 159 0-2 isn't going to get it done unless the other team plays like crap). Nebraska is on the right track and showed much improved mental toughness but I think they still have a ways to go to really compete for league titles. Giving up 10 yards per carry to a backup RB, many of which came late in the game after your D wore down, while your QB completes less than 40% of his passes with two terrible picks sounds disturbingly familiar. Evanston has been UW's bugaboo forever (lost the last 4 games there) and I wouldn't be shocked to see a bit of a mental lapse from UW now that the ridiculous part of the schedule is over. Badgers could very well lose next week opening up the West for NU, but I think OSU is going to be a rude awakening for the Huskers.

Like when 2010 at-one-point-top-5-ranked Nebraska nearly lost to South Dakota State. Or when 2014 Nebraska who spent most of the year in the top 20 was one Ameer Abdullah miracle play away from overtime with McNeese State. Or when #18 (by end of season rankings) Michigan lost to Appalachian State in 2007. idk how it's some kind of magical revelation that good teams struggle against bad teams sometimes. Nebraska in 2010 went up 14-0 and never trailed. Are you also arguing that NU in '14 was really good? I agree, but just surprised to hear you advocate that position. Wisconsin isn't better than NU this year. They are pretty good. By no means are they great. The talent level is pretty close, but IMO the loss of their leading tackler is what should make the difference. TA is a much more talented QB than anything that Wisky has and as long as the offense doesn't turn the ball over, there is no way that NU should lose this game. Stack the line and make them pass. He isn't accurate over 10-15 yards and doesn't have a strong arm by any means. I like how we match up with them at this point in the season. That isn't saying that we can't lose, but I think they need some help from us to win the game. Cichy has been a beast this year, no doubt it would be nice to have him. But just for perspective's sake I think it should be noted that Cichy was the backup to begin the season. He was only starting because our #2 ILB Chris Orr was lost for the season on the first play of the LSU game. Chicy is our #3 ILB and our #4, Connelly was great against LSU (our #1 ILB Edwards was out for that game). Losing Cichy isn't good, but this team has great depth at LBer and the system really allows guys to shine there. I doubt this will be the difference in the game. The key will be TA's accuracy and ability to hit guys in rhythm on quick hitting routes and which team can convert 3rd downs. The run game isn't going to work and on longer developing pass plays, UW's pass rush has been dominant. But we give up the <7 yard routes and try to limit YAC. That is our weakness and where NU has to have success. On the other side having CC back and healthy is a huge boon to UW's O. It means you have to respect the run and gives our WRs and TEs one on one opportunities on the outside. If our Oline can give him time, Hornibrook has shown he can find and hit the open guy. As with most B1G games, it all comes down to who wins in the trenches. Should be a good game. This is the 2nd best Badger team NU will have faced since joining the B1G (after the original with Russell Wilson) and they still feel they have a lot to prove. NU is going to have to beat us, we aren't going to give it away. Obviously UW fans are confident that we can take care of business at home but it is far from a done deal.

Another relevant stat is SOS UW-3rd NU-72nd. Just something to keep in mind when breaking down the numbers.

I think Wisconsin has been fairly consistent so far this year. A lot of people have been putting undue weight on the GSU game because it better fits their preconceived notions of what they thought UW was going to be coming into the year. UW played all or most of that game with out our #1 target in TE Fumigalli, our top 3 RBs, both starting G's and switched QBs in the second half. That is excluding the fact that that game was a gimme before the hardest stretch in UW history and they called it as conservatively as possible. In every game against meaningful competition UW has been remarkably consistent. We shut teams down on D, primarily by limiting the run and then blitzing the crap out of the QB on 3rd down. Our LBs are quick and sure tacklers, as are our S's, which means teams face a lot of 3rd and 6 or 7's and then we bring pressure to force quick throws into covered areas. UW is currently 4th in the nation in 3rd down D with opposing offenses converting around 24% of the time. That is the key to our D. Limit big plays, make teams convert third and longs as they drive down the field. The only thing that has given us consistent trouble are quick, dink and dunk type drives. If TA is able to get the ball out of his hand quickly and in rhythm you guys will move the ball. If you are relying on 10-20 yard routes off of 4 or 5 step drops (obviously different in shotgun but those type of routes) I think you will really struggle to find consistency on O. The run game isn't going to work. On offense UW has been consistent in its inconsistency, primarily in the red zone. The LSU, Iowa, and MSU games all could have been 10-20 points worse if UW had just been able to cash in some of its long drives for scores. For as inept as the scores look, UW has actually been pretty good at moving the ball. There haven't been many 3 & outs, usually they are able to get at least a 1st down or three before someone drops a pass or whiffs on a block to get us behind the chains. They have really struggled in the opponents last third of the field. Hornibrook shows a lot of promise but he does not get good zip on the ball, so he seems to have difficulty fitting it in to the tighter spaces around the end zone. Our play calling is also pretty vanilla, 9 times out of 10 CC is getting it on 1st and 2nd around the goal line, and the O line has been unable to give him much space to work. Outside of the Red Zone, CC has been running hard the last few weeks. He isn't anywhere near as explosive as Gordon, White or Ball so his 'big' runs tend to be of the 10-20 yard variety and usually involve a broken tackle or two. This has in some ways helped our D stay off the field because our drives are seldom under 6-8 plays and involve taking chunks off the clock, though we could obviously use some more scoring. The WRs use a lot of crossing routes and play action to gain space. We don't take many shots over the top, but usually there are at least 2 or 3 times we will try to catch a S cheating up on PA and let one go. Overall it is a typical B1G pro style O. Lots of presnap shifting, looking to get guys isolated in winnable match ups. The line is adequate but not to UW standards yet. Our Gs really struggle in pass pro and overall we don't see much push when the D loads up at the point of attack. CC has had to really grind for his yards this season, and he is good at getting 2-3 out of nothing to keep the O moving forward. In obvious passing downs we have not been able to keep guys off of the QB. Sometimes he is able to get it out of there on time, but more often he gets overwhelmed if there are defenders in his face. He doesn't have a great pocket sense yet and misses a lot of opportunities to step up into throwing lanes. We have also faced 3 of the top 10 fronts in all of CFB, plus MSU and Iowa, so it isn't shocking that the O hasn't looked super sharp. What gives Badger fans a lot of hope is that our line is finally getting healthy, as is CC, and hopefully we will get our #2 RB back this week in Deal. And even given the ridiculous schedule and all the injuries, outside of Michigan, our O has been able to move the ball pretty consistently. Our WRs are horribly underrated, Peavy in particular, and the TE is a pro, if the line is able to keep guys off of Hornibrook, the only thing stopping us has been self-inflicted mistakes. I think Husker fans will be a little surprised by the Badger O, it is much more balanced than in recent years. Nebraska is about to take a huge leap up in competition this week. UW hasn't looked great at times this year but that is in large part because we have played LSU, Michigan, MSU, Iowa and Ohio State. Even the 'bad' teams in there have multiple NFL starters and are coming off 12 win seasons. Meanwhile Nebraska has also looked pretty 'meh' for much of the season while playing teams that UW routinely beats by 4 TDs (Indiana, Illinois, Purdue) and whose signature win is over a 2 win Oregon squad that is giving up nearly 50 points a game. Of course the Huskers have a chance to win this one and have been much improved on the field, not to mention the general air about the program. I just don't see it happening in Madison on Freakfest. If you think Madison has been hostile before, this weekend will be a whole other level (in the city, the actually game atmosphere will be hard pressed to ever top the first one) and the energy should be through the roof. Be prepared, all joking aside. Having watched a bunch of both teams, I just don't see the same level of physicality from Nebraska that I do from UW and I think that will be the difference in a close, swingy game. I'm saying 24-13 UW in a crazy Camp Randall. Good luck to Nebraska and have fun & be safe to all the fans making the trip.

Your trip to The Camp will depend entirely on your attitude about it. If you wear Husker gear you will be heckled, most commonly with an 'a$* hole' chant, other times worse. This is usually not meant in a mean spirited way and if you react with a smile and a cleaver comeback people will offer you a beer. Overindulgence can be a problem but just use a little common sense and avoid those idiots and the problem goes away. Stories about Nebraska fans getting jumped and having people refuse to help them are ridiculous. Madison isn't some farm town where football is God and the local police are all cousins with the coach. I'm not going to say people don't get in fights on campus, but 999 times out of 1,000 it is a two way street, like any other college campus in the country. After a few years in the conference it isn't surprising that Nebraska fans have experienced a culture clash in Madison. You pride yourselves on clapping for the opponents while we have a cheer that goes F you/Eat Sh**. Different strokes for different folks. But having attended countless games at Camp Randall over the last 25 years I have to say that the behavior described in this thread is unlike anything I have ever seen. Yes we swear a lot and are super drunk, if that offends you, then you are going to have a bad time. If you are willing to laugh at yourself and give as good as you get, in a good natured way, you are going to have a great trip. I have never seen fans accost old ladies, and if they did they would be immediately swarmed by the police/other fans. I think the demoralizing nature of the games themselves have been the single biggest factor in most terrible experiences by Husker fans. It sucks getting rocked by a team you consider beneath you that totally stole your style. It is easy to take the ribbing in a much more sinister light when the game is getting out of hand on the field. Maybe that does make us terrible fans in the eyes of some Cornhuskers, if so I get it. Bottom line is that in Madison, the party comes first, the game is a distant second to most fans. If you can enjoy the party, and the adult language, you will have a great time.

Go back and look at Callahan's schedule in 2007. I was not and am not a Callifan, but I strongly doubt this "10-2" team would have done any better against that schedule. If we were in the other division, the outcome would be much worse than it is this year; if we were in the Big XII still, we sure wouldn't finish this season with 2 losses. Just like the new selection committee, you should look at the quality of the wins and losses, not just the numbers. I mean, we could go independent and try to schedule as many lower division teams as we could, maybe a couple from the bottom of Conference USA, and win out! Undefeated! Then squawk and squawk about how we were screwed! Everyone is out to get us! We beat everyone on our pathetic schedule and don't get a shot at the NC? No fair! As much as I dislike the SEC hype, we look leagues worse than any two loss team in that conference. Many of the 3 loss teams and even LSU with 4 would be nearly insurmountable. Fine, okay, 2 losses in the worst division in the power 5. Yay. Have you seen the ACC Coastal? The leader of the SEC East lost at home to the worst team in the B1G. The top teams in the B1G would do just fine in any other conference, the gap is way overblown. I'd love to see Arky, Kentucky, Vandy, Tenn, Texas A&M or Florida come play in Minneapolis or Madison in the snow and see how great they look.

I think one thing that has been left out, at least regarding yesterdays game, is that UW is a dang good team that came to play angry in their game of the year. This is a lost year for UW even with the B1G title still in reach because this team should be undefeated right now. Early season coaching decisions (going with McEvoy over the clear player favorite/better QB Stave) cost this Badger team two VERY winnable games. UW was doing the same thing to LSU before injuries left us without 2 of our 3 DL, our FB and Gordon and they realized that McEvoy couldn't complete a 5 yard out route. Northwestern was a debacle in the rain (despite Gordon's 250+ yards) and Stave's rust cost us 3 INTs in the NW redzone. Other than that we have absolutely destroyed every team we have played. This was our only chance to make up for our disappointment on a national stage against a really good team and the guys were ready. Melvin Gordon has been talking about this matchup since the preseason. He has been very upfront about how much he wants the Heisman and he knew that if he was going to be a real contender it would all come down to this game and the showdown with Abdullah. That hunger has only grown as UW has been off the national radar since the first week of the season, he has been waiting his entire life for this game and he made the most of it. That doesn't mean that this result was inevitable but I think too many Husker fans are forgetting that UW had this game circled too. Sometimes you just get whopped by a team that wants it more, it doesn't mean the whole system is broken. But then again, I realize that Nebraska views itself as one of the top 5 programs in the land and the expectations are different here than they are just about anywhere else.

Melvin Gordon is right there with him when it comes to good character. Check out his feature on the Journey for just one example.

Not my experience. I had items thrown at me (including beer). I had people tell my son he was a loser in his Husker gear with 2 different people putting a shoulder into him as he walked by...because 14 year olds need to have that happen when they're not saying anything at all to anyone. My wife and son had to hear opposing fans tell her she needed to be with a real man along with lots of sexual references. It was awesome that my son had to hear that too. It brought back memories of Colorado as I've said in the past. It was a great experience during the game but before and after, it was pure and unadulterated crap due to the unwelcoming nature of a "few" fans. The worst part is...if that happened in Nebraska, other Nebraska fans would jump all over those few who were ruining it for visitors...but instead, all that happened was jeers and cheers from people at Randall. As I've said, it wasn't a good experience...when someone threatens your family, it's not cool. It sounds like you did not put any effort into discerning what was actually a threat to your family and what was simply trash talk at a sporting event. If you take all of that at face value and can't laugh it off than you are exactly the type of person who should not come to Camp Randall. You are the enemy on game day. You should expect some ribbing. I get it that Nebraska fans had no idea what to expect coming into Camp Randall and the reality was jarring. Now you know that we do football different and as crazy as it may seem we take an equal amount of pride in being unruly and irreverent as you do in being nice and polite. Madison has always done things a little differently and we enjoy sticking it to the system/powers that be. In football that means that we are a decidedly R rated experience and we like it that way. If you don't that is fine, different strokes for different folks, but a little reality is healthy in every discussion. The reality here was that Nebraska fans believed the ESPN hype and thought the B1G sucked and that they were going to waltz in here and win the title every year, starting with a nationally televised coming out party against Wisconsin. All summer we heard about how UW was just a second rate Nebraska, a cheap imitation that was going to get introduced to the real thing when 20,000 NU fans invaded our house and showed us upstarts what was what. Except that that script got thrown out the window and the Badger rout was on. It became shockingly clear that, in fact, the B1G can play a little ball, Nebraska fans had no impact at all on our stadium as they were completely drowned out by a familiar yet foreign Sea of Red, and the team on the field got curb stomped by a team embracing the philosophy you abandoned right about the same time you lost superpower status. Combined with the culture shock it was a lot to take in for the Husker fans in attendance and it is not surprising that many of them had a less than pleasurable experience. In the days of internet anonymity it is easy for a relatively mundane interaction to take on mythic proportions and be widely disseminated as the absolute truth. That is what happened here. I'm sure there were a few incidents where Badger fans crossed the line, that is true of any stadium in such a charged atmosphere and Camp Randall is certainly not immune, but the tales of widespread assaults and abuse are simply not true. People are going to filter interactions through their own ethos and reach their own conclusions but that is not proof of intent. Many of those same fans that you thought were threatening you and your family would have bought you all a beer if you had returned their jabs in kind and with a smile. Finally, for the other poster, of course people don't act like that at work or in the grocery store. But you weren't at a grocery store or at work, you were at a college football night game between two top ten teams at a local that is known to embrace the drinking culture (IE Milwaukee Brewers). To expect the same standards of behavior to exist at those events is asinine. But then what do I know, I'm just a drunken virgin moron.

Real quick...you do or do not start chanting "A-Hole" chants at dinners, movies, school plays and the grocery store. Literally two posts above this you wrote: "You sound like a moron...you don't need to act like an ass. It is that simple. You are probably a virgin." ​You win, clearly we Wisconsin fans have much to learn from sages such as yourself on what it means to be 'classy', and how not to act like an ass. Now I better get off my computer so I can go find a real girl!

If you ignore all nuance and put words into my mouth. What I actually said is that we get rowdy for football games. Do individuals cross the line? Sure, a couple dozen people are arrested every game day for crossing the line, but that behavior is not generally acceptable at the Camp, thus the arrests. Many posters here made it seem like the stadium was giving a standing ovation as drunks spit on grandmas or throw stuff at kids. That is BS. I have been going to Badger games for 25 years now and I have seen maybe one fight in that entire time, I have never seen opposing fans physically threatened or unduly taunted. Do we curse at opposing fans? Absolutely, but not all curses are the same. The ones that UW fans engage in are goodnatured ribbing, not cruel insults meant to threaten you. Heck we swear at ourselves with far more gusto than we use on opposing fans (except Iowa, F*&% Iowa). If you feel that getting chanted 'A***ole' at you by a bunch of kids is over the line or somehow impugns the entire Badger fan base as savage thugs, Camp Randall is not the place for you. They probably did give an old Nebraska fan an A-hole chant. That is how we do it, if you wear another teams colors into our house you are going to get the A-hole chant. I know this is very much not how they do it in Nebraska, where there is almost a cult of kindness around the football team and that is fine. You get a lot of respect around the nation for being the classiest fan base in CFB and it is clearly important to a lot of you. We pride ourselves on something different and find your obsession with politeness a bit odd and off putting. That culture shock combined with the absolutely embarrassing loss to a program that is basically you from 20 years ago, twisted the experience into something much darker than it really was. Suddenly some good natured, if drunk, chants become much more sinister in their intent. People pushing through a crowded stadium, again mostly drunk, and spilling things on people rows in front is no longer a simple accident but a targeted assault. We see it all the time. People that come to the Camp expecting their team to lose and/or people whose priority is to have a great experience leave feeling that they just had the time of their life and that Camp Randall is a truly unique and special place. When we play teams like OSU, PSU, or Nebraska who go into every game expecting their team to win going away suddenly the Camp is Sodom and Gomorrah where no kid is safe and grandmas are beat up in the bathroom. Also Iowa. F*** Iowa. You guys have a nice shiny new thing going on with them that will probably turn into a rivalry. We have been slugging it out every year now since the Wright brothers were in swaddling clothes. They are about as biased and jealous a source on all things UW as you can find. Minny fans are resigned to their fate as our inferior, Iowa still thinks they are the better program and our sustained success gets under their skin like no other. Once again the point is that we watch our team differently than you do. You can stand on your high horse and talk down to us about our behavior all you want. We don't care, its not going to change just because you guys are in the B1G now. We are going to keep doing what we do they way we want to do it. If you don't like that, don't come to Madison expecting something else, you will be disappointed.

That's how you chose to do it. That is completely fine and noble of you. We do it different. You may find that distasteful or obnoxious but, frankly, we don't care. When you come to our house you play by our rules. That is going to include swearing and drinking and general rowdy behavior. We don't want you to feel unsafe but we also don't want you to feel overly welcome, if you don't like the vibe you don't have to come to Madison. Nobody is spitting on grandmas or throwing beer at kids. Or if they do, they will be arrested promptly, because that is behavior that everyone considers over the line. It is funny how all of these stories about UW fans and their despicable actions emerge when we beat a team with more historical cache than us. It is always OSU or Michigan or now Nebraska fans who feel UW is out of control. Surely it has nothing to do with the beat down taking place on the field that challenges their comfortable sense of place in CFB...

Wisconsin is 119th in the country in passing offense, 2nd in the nation in rushing offense. They already rely on Gordon cause their passing game sucks! Our defense is 25th in the nation against the rush, hit Gordon, wrap his a$$ up, and drive him into the ground cause he doesn't go down easily. We're the best team Wisconsin will face this season, period, there is no arguing that. They haven't faced a rushing team like us yet which is why their defense is ranked 11th in the nation against the run. It's going to be a tough game, we just have to be smart and not go full retard on offense. I think LSU would have a legit argument.

The key to beating UW offensively is pretty simple. Stop Gordon and Clement from busting long TD runs and make Stave pick up 3rd and 5+ and it is easy to disrupt the O. Now that is a task that is tough to do in reality despite the simple theory. But the key to UW this year has been the D, not the O. The Badgers have the #1 ranked defense in the NCAA. With Warren Herring on the field this D has been taken to a different level. When he left the LSU game the D had given up 7 points on one 83 yard blown coverage. Maryland's first stringers managed to score one TD in the final 52 seconds against our 2nd and 3rd stringers. Rutgers did not score. In other words, this D is legit when healthy. The one area that can be exploited is the deep pass, as our DBs are almost always in man-to-man and we usually have at least one safety blitzing or in the box. If you can hit some long passes you can score on UW, if you can't hit a few over the top, it can be a long day for opposing offenses. The new front 7 has started to jell and the DBs have benefitted from the improved pass rush. Everyone always looks at Gordon and the lack of a passing game as the keys to matching up with Bucky but the D is the engine for this team. Getting to 24 points is something that only LSU and Illinois (and Illinois scored two garbage time TDs against our back ups after the game was 38-14) have managed to do so far this year, and both of them faced a depleted Badgers D. Neb is certainly one of, if not the, best teams we will have faced, but we have had this game circled all year as the key to the season and I would expect to get UW's A game in two weeks. Scoring may be at a premium.

Are you sure you have seen UW play? They held LSU to 2.7 YPC despite losing 2/3rds of their D-line during the game. BGSU is the defending MAC champions and in games against teams other than UW has put up 31, 48, 45, and 47 points. They are not a terrible team on O but UW made them look like one. Overall UW ranks 9th nationally against the run, 11th in scoring D and 18th in passing D. UW has one of the best defenses in the B1G and the nation. As far the topic at hand, Gordon has fallen a bit in peoples eyes because; 1) He got hurt against LSU and could only play a little over a half (in which he was clearly the best player on the field in a game stacked with NFL players FWIW) and he played at significantly less than 100% against WIU and it showed. 2) He has already had a bye week which followed the week where he played hurt. That put him out of the national narrative for two critical weeks. Running wild on Illinois does nothing to advance anyones cause, they are terrible and have been terrible since Juice Williams left. You are supposed to run for around 200 yards against them. The Miami game definitely helped because of the 'U' factor but that team will lose several more games as the season wears on. Gordon is going to continue to make up ground as the season wears on and he continues to put up ridiculous highlights each week. Abdullah also has the benefit of a competent passing game to help him out immensely, whereas Gordon is a one man show and he still runs wild on defenses. Last week was the first game of the season where he got over 20 carries. This is not meant as a knock on Abdullah who is having an incredible season and is an even better person but rather as a defense of Gordon. Any discussion of the best RB in CFB is a joke if he is not in the top three with Gurley and Abdullah. Gordon has a serious shot at beating out 'Mr. Freaking Outside' Glenn Davis' all time YPC record that has stood for 70 years, for pete's sake! And I will take that bet a million times over, the last time Gordon faced the 'blackshirts' he averaged 24 yards a carry. Just saying

Its obviously impossible to convince Husker fans on the Huskerboard that anyone is better than Rozier so I'm not even going to try. That being said those who are saying Dayne was nothing special must not have been paying attention. That or your Husker glasses are 20 inches thick. There has NEVER been a RB like Dayne and given the state of football (spread Os/increasing passing attacks/RB committees/etc.) it is very doubtful that we will ever see one like him again. I get that people who didn't watch him on a regular basis think he's just a stat guy. That argument holds some weight until you realize just how ridiculous those stats were. Dayne missed several games his Soph year and sat out at least 10 4th quarters, probably closer to 15 but those box scores are hard to find. He would have had another 1,000 yards EASILY if he had played every game and closed out all the blowouts along the way. Remember the thing that made Dayne a Hall-of-Famer was that he was a 260 pound back who could take 30+ carries a game like it was nothing. He took games over in the 4th quarter when the opposing D was sick of facing him. Alvarez sat him for the 4th in almost every non-conference game he played as he would routinely have 200 yards at halftime. If he would have stayed in for those 4th quarters against teams that he had forced to quit (not just non-conference games either, many B1G teams were spared Dayne in the 4th as well) his numbers would have been even more staggering than they were. He didn't start for the first four games of his Frosh year, sat out the majority of several 4th qtrs (for example vs hawaii when he had 0 carries after the 3rd quarter and still finished with 336 yards) and still finished with 2,100+ yards. AT WISCONSIN!!!! The UW of Dayne's era is not even close to the UW of today. That was a program attempting to find itself still. we had won two Bowl games in the last 50 years before Dayne got there. This was not Nebraska with multiple CFB Hall-of-Famers. To those who point out that Rozier wasn't the only option, or even the only Hall-of-Fame option, on those teams while also pointing to his YPC as why he is better might want to double check their logic. Is it easier to gain big chunks of yards when the D has multiple threats to deal with or when you are the only threat facing 9 and 10 man fronts most of the time? Obviously the guy with an all time great at QB AND WR would have the better YPC numbers. Not to mention if you double a guys carries there is no guarantee that they will maintain that pace. Part of what made Dayne such a great player was his durability. Yes that is a 50+ yard TD around the end against a 10 man front by a man who weighed 270 lbs at that point. Dayne did not bust off a ton of 70+ yard TD runs, although he did have some, but he would have at least one 50+ yarder a game. He would go 2 yds, 4 yds, 6 yds, 2 yds for half a game but everyone knew that it was just a matter of time before he would bust that long TD run. Thats why he had 70+ TDs and 7,100+ yards. You don't get to those numbers on a bunch of 1 yard TDs. If he did his numbers would be closer to Ball's 5,100 yards. Dayne faced fronts like this (9+ in the box) his whole career and still set the NCAA rushing record by nearly 700 yards. How can you possibly belittle that? Its not like Dayne was close with a bunch of guys and just benefitted from playing on an all time great team with multiple HOFers and happened to get more carries so he got the record. HE SHATTERED IT!! At a traditional doormat!! No one else is within 400 yards of 7,000 and Dayne is well ahead of that number. No one is even close to what Dayne did. That doesn't just happen because we gave some bum a bunch of carries. He was an all time great. Only someone with a serious agenda can look at what he did and WHERE he did it and dismiss him as anything other than a first ballot HOFer. I get it that after the last two years you guys hate Wisconsin and will continue to knock them down at every turn but come on. Dayne was not just some guy on a great team. He WAS the great team. He ran for back to back 200+ yard games in the Rose Bowl against teams that stacked the line and tried to take him away from us. They failed. Can anyone here name a single other player on those UW teams? (quite a few played in the NFL but only one did anything of note) Dayne was simply a beast. 260+ with the feet of a 200 lber. Plenty of guys have been on teams with far better supporting casts yet were still the focal point of their offense. No one has ever come near what Dayne did. Not Rozier, Not George, Not Simpson. Not Sanders. Not Campbell. Not Brown. Not Walker. Not Allen. No one is within 600 yards of him. Dayne was a beast and an all time great. Case closed.

I'm noticing a lot of relegating UW to 2nd fiddle in this new division. I might point out 48-17, 30-27 (with a 17 point lead blown), 70-31. One team has been clearly ahead of the other but its not Nebraska. Traditionally UW doesn't hold a candle to NU but on the field recently UW is clearly in the drivers seat in this new alignment. Also I might echo what others have said, the difference in the strength of the divisions is misleading. Very rarely since PSU has joined the conference has all three of OSU, PSU and UM been good at the same time. Maybe for about three years around 97-2000 but most OSU fans would probably claim they were down at that point despite making Rose Bowls. Point being those three look great on paper but UW has been every bit as good for the last 15-20 years as PSU and UM. You already know that you underestimate Northwestern at your own peril, they are a very solid program good for 7-10 wins every year. Iowa has been way down the last two years but for the last 15 years they have been battling UW for 4th in the B1G pecking order (Name recognition not on field product) and I wouldn't expect them to stay down for long. This has kind of been their MO. They have two rebuilding seasons where they win 6-8 games followed by two very solid years where they win 10+ when those players become upperclassmen. Laugh now they'll be back soon enough, and thats coming from someone whose motto concerning Iowa is 'F*%$ Iowa'. This is the first cycle where UW has been able to reload while Iowa had to rebuild so we'll see if thats a sign that UW has pulled ahead for good or if Iowa will catch up with some fresh blood on the coaching staff. Again though they will be a solid team more years than not. Minnesota is a joke now but it was less than 10 years ago when they were beating SEC teams (Bama, Arky, Etc.) in bowls with multiple NFL running backs gaining huge chunks of yards. Brewster completely ruined that program but IIRC Minnesota was the leading rushing team in the B1G from 99-2006 or so, ahead of OSU and UW. If they rediscover their B1G power roots they are another team that can win 7-8 games a year. As it stands they are the worst program in the B1G which is really sad for one of CFBs all time giants. I don't think NU or UW will have to worry about Minny challenging for the division anytime soon but they should be a team that can beat you on the right day, and thats not the case right now. Hopefully that changes y 2014. Illinois is a crazy program. They always have way more talent then their record shows but every once in a while they put it together and make a nice run. For as bad as they have been they've been to 2 BCS games, which is more than most programs can say. Purdue has never recovered from the Starks Flip in 04 (Purdue was #5 in the NCAA, fresh off the highs of the Drew Brees years, Gameday was at W Lafayette, Kyle Orton was the Heisman front runner and UW was their last tough game that year. If Purdue gains 3 yards on 3rd down with a little over 2 mins left in the game they most likely win the B1G and go to the Rose Bowl for the 2nd time in 4 years... ) Bottom line is the West has a lot of midrange teams while the East is feast or famine. As others have mentioned the 9 game schedule means that we'll all play at least one of the big names every year, with another opportunity in the Big Ten title game. They definitely have more prestige but this is the B1G, every game is on national TV and if you go undefeated you will be in the National Title game. I like it just because it feels natural to be paired with Iowa/Minn/Ill/Northwestern/NU. UW/NU will have a chance to become the rivalry it deserves to be, especially considering we basically jacked your program in every way. Add to that the way we rubbed your faces in the dirt twice on the national stage to start things off and this has the makings of a beautiful relationship.

Name one school that has consistently less talent than Nebraska that has averaged more than 9.5 wins the last 5 years and played in 3 championship games. Wisconsin

Its understandable since NU is new to the conference that they don't know any better (I kid, I kid). The Cap One/Florida Citrus/Tangerine Bowl is actually a really good bowl. It regularly features a top 10 match-up of the SEC #2 vs the B1G #2 (or #3 vs #3 since both conferences almost always get 2 teams in the BCS) and is usually a close game. Despite the ESPN propaganda the B1G has more than held its own in this game. I would expect nothing less this year, no way those 29 seniors want to end their careers on such a down note. NU will come to play on Jan 1st. Heres to a great, injury free game. Go Big Red, Go B1G!

As far as the Badger D goes, they have been playing very well all year. It's easy to forget that we were missing 3 of our top 4 DEs and our starting FS in the first game. That made a huge difference when you guys were coming back by attacking the edges with Abdullah and Martinez and we just couldn't stop it. In the other two big games (OSU, PSU) we were missing the heart and soul of the team in Borland. This was the first big game where we had the whole D healthy and ready to fly around. Even with the injuries this year the UW D has been very underrated and the first Nebraska game was by far their worst performance of the year (obviously NU playing lights out in the 2nd half had a large part in that subpar showing). I don't know how much they really 'improved'. They just got healthy at the right time. I don't think any huge changes need to be made other than improving the depth. Missing a game changing DT can cripple a lot of defenses, especially when it forces you to reshuffle the whole D-line. A 260 lb DE playing DT against a power run game clearly was not working but you play the guys who give you the best chance to win when you face injuries. Other than depth, which every football team at every level wishes it could improve, and a little more beef in the trenches, this D has been fine. I expect them to play very well against UGA. Also I don't think the scheme was really the problem. Those really were the same plays (except one or two weird ones) UW has been running all year. The biggest difference this game was that Canada finally stuck with them for 4 quarters. If you remember the first game UW's O was moving the ball very well in the first half and the speed sweep was a big part of it, along with play action. In the 2nd half Canada got timid, not wanting the frosh in his first start to blow a 17 point lead. He stopped the sweep motion and just ran iso into the teeth of your D for the rest of the game and the O stalled out. Gordon came into the game averaging over 8 ypc on the year and UW fans have been screaming to get him the ball more all season. Obviously the execution was nonexistent for NU but I don't know how much blame you can put on the coaches for that. The players have to make the tackles in space, coaches can only do so much. From my perspective it looked like NU just kind of walked into a perfect storm. Despite what they are saying in the press, it looked to me like NU was already working on their tan's and wondering which board shorts to bring to Pasadena. That was a team that thought the B1GCG was a mere formality and they ran into a pissed off and relatively healthy (for Dec.1) Badger squad who knew it had underperformed all year and wanted to make a statement. Remember UW has basically been treading water waiting for this game since the OSU sanctions were announced. There was simply no way Indiana, Illinois or Purdue was going to beat us out for the title shot. Those teams simply are not on our level and haven't been for some time now. Once we lost to Oregon St in week 2 we knew that the pinnacle was going to be the Rose Bowl this year and it was basically a one week season. We definitely wanted to beat OSU and PSU and all the others but they didn't really mean anything. The whole season was just a warmup for this game and I think NU just totally overlooked them and it snowballed from there. Its a tough loss to take but don't lose sight of the fact that 99% of CFB teams would kill to win 9-10 games every season and play for a conference title 3 out 4 years. I guess my overall point is that this loss had just as much to do with Wisconsin as it did NU imploding. I think that has been overlooked in many of the post game breakdowns, UW is no joke, when they bring their A game they can beat anybody in the country. Not trying to beat my chest, just saying don't get too down on your boys, they had a great season and can still finish it strong with a huge win over the Bulldogs. Good luck and know that the B1G will be pulling for you!