Bigdsrip

That inability to finish had a lot to do with UW stepping up in crunch time and getting stops when they had to have them. After watching our gimpy, third string QB lead a depleted O on a clutch, game tying drive in the last minute two weeks in a row it is clear that this team knows how to step up when the game is on the line. On paper we had no business playing toe-to-toe with OSU yet we outplayed them for about 45 mins in that game. Good teams make clutch plays when the pressure is on. Obviously this UW team is not a great team or they would have won one of those 3 OT games, but they do have that winners mentality that makes every game close. Much of your argument is solid, but it relies on hypotheticals. NU may play that perfect, mistake free game, but thats not what we have seen on the field. Based soley on objective results, we have seen NU get waxed multiple times in the two B1G years. UW on the other hand, has not. Even when nothing is working like us fans would like, we have been in every game. The actual product on the field shows that NU can lay an egg from time to time and they get smoked, while when UW lays an egg we lose in OT. Thats what I'm basing it on. When I was watching that UW-NU game through my rose colored glasses, I saw it as us getting ultra conservative with the lead and handing you guys the game on a platter. I didn't see that as the 'true' NU waking up and a superior team coming back to win. We gave you guys that game by changing our O in the second half so as to avoid the game changing mistake and it just stalled completely. My point there is that its a two way street when it comes to 'what if's'. I just don't see any tangible support for the idea that NU playing great means that UW doesn't have a prayer in this game. That being said in my gut I feel that NU wins this game. Nothing has gone right for the Badgers this year and I don't know why that would change now (using my own, tangible, logic against my biased heart). The NU injuries give me a little hope (though I wish both squads were 100%) but this year the ball has just not bounced our way.

Thats understandable but I disagree. Oregon played a great, clean game it took everything they had to win, and this NU team doesn't hold a candle to them. OSU mopped the floor with you guys and it took everything they had to beat us. UW doesn't let teams play perfect, clean games, we bring the game down into the dust cloud with us. If we both bring our A+ games it should be a close game coming down to the last possession. I'm not sure what about the two games we have played convinces you that you are more talented then us. We were a complete train wreck when we played you at your place and we were up by multiple touchdowns for a good portion of the game. I see two very well matched teams that want to establish their will through physical D and strong ground games. Nothing I've seen this year suggests that NU is on a different level then UW. It's not like we have played a perfect game yet either, maybe Indiana but they don't really count, and we dropped 60+ on them.

Knapp with facts! +1 I was referring to games since 2010, not just this year. 2010 OSU #1 31-18 UW 2011 TCU #2 21-19 TCU 2012 Oreg #3 45-38 Oreg Whatever measure you use the point is that UW has played some very, very good teams in huge spotlight games and they have all come down to the last possession since 2010. This team just doesn't get blown out. That was my only point and it is validated whatever metric you use. No Borland played that game and played it well, as I recall he had one of the hits of the year against Burkhead early in the game. We were missing our FS Shelton Johnson, and our DE's Brendon Kelly and Patrick Muldoon (technically not a starter but he plays starter minutes). Not to mention Ball was coming back from sitting out the last 6 quarters and had yet to find his grove after the rough start to the season (although you can make a solid argument that Burkhead not being 100% at the time makes that a wash). As I said before should be a great game, but calls for a blowout is simply wishful thinking by NU fans. This UW team is much improved from the one that was up 27-10 before going into run the clock mode and T-Magic lived up to his name. Good luck again, hope I haven't just jinxed my guys!

I could very easily see NU winning on Sat but I would be shocked if it was by more than 7. UW has not lost a game by more than that since Oct. 2010 and even that game was within a field goal until the final minute. That includes 3 games vs teams ranked #3 or higher and multiple games against top 10 teams. This team just does not get blown out. This is not the same squad you guys saw early this year, the D has 3 starters back that sat out game #1 (assuming Borland plays) and the whole team is just much sharper. As others have pointed out every game UW has lost they could have won with one or two breaks here and there. They have lost three games in OT in the last 4 weeks. Of course as a UW fan I expect to win, but I could see the trends continuing with NU coming out on top. Either way it will be a close game. Good luck Huskers and lets hope it is injury free!