I feel that we are very capable of winning this game, but anything can happen. Our offense is very fast...too fast for the Wisconsin D in my opinion. And we will definetely give up some points, but I think if we score at least 30 (and thats a big if), we win this game. Its gonna be a battle for sure.
Two cents from someone whos watched all UW's games and two Nebraska games: Key matchups: Dennard vs. Toon: 5'10 corner vs. 6'3 receiver. Toon has been having the kind of season UW fans have been hoping for since he got here. Can Dennard shut him down or does Toon win the jump balls? On the other side, Corey Cooper had some problems last week. UW OLBs/DEs vs. Martinez: The Badgers don't have great speed here, although DEs Nzegwu and Gilbert are good athletes and OLBs Taylor and Claxton are solid. Can they consistently turn Martinez in or can he regularly get to the corner and gash UW like UNLV did? Martinez is a hell of a weapon and has the ability to make it a long night for UW's defenders. Crick and Co. vs. Wilson: Wilson has been amazing, No. 2 in the nation in completion percentage, throwing extremely well on the run, avoiding pressure and turning in some nice runs. Can Nebraska's D-line 1) get some kind of consistent pressure on him, while 2) holding their rushing lanes so he can't escape and hurt the Huskers with his legs? Special teams: UW kicker Alec Lerner has booted 3 kickoffs OB -- this plus Ameer Abdullah give Nebraska a decided advantage here. Can UW avoid a big breakdown? It's true UW has faced poor competition to this point, but they've done exactly what an outstanding team should do to inferior opponents. Both teams have gotten better as the season has gone along. Both teams have kept things pretty vanilla thus far but will pull out the stops Saturday. I think in the end, UW just has too many offensive weapons and Wilson has been so good in making use of them. The Badgers can run inside and out, stretch the field, their O-line are brutes who make a living grinding down a defense through the course of a game, but they can also get out and pull. And if the defense focuses too much on stopping the run, the play-action pass becomes devastating. Not sure 30 is gonna do it, as the previous poster suggested. Offensively, Nebraska is gonna score but I think they're gonna have to work harder for it, ie., put together longer drives as opposed to living off big plays. Nebraska can not let UW get ahead by much because I don't think Martinez can pass the Huskers back in the game. I think their best hope is to win the turnover battle and maybe get a kick/punt return TD. But if the Badgers don't shoot themselves in the foot too often, I see something along the lines of UW 38, Nebraska 27. Can't wait to see it play out.