MADISON, WIS. -- Wisconsin fought off a feisty Nebraska program that played far better than its record indicated in a 35-28 victory on Saturday inside Camp Randall Stadium.

UW (8-3 overall, 6-2 Big Ten) escaped with a win thanks to its offense picking up its defense and a true freshman back continuing the Badgers' recent legacy of running over and through the "vaunted" Blackshirts defense.

BadgerBlitz.com presents its grades and game balls after the win over Nebraska (3-8, 1-7) before looking ahead to Axe Week.

UW's offense lifted up the program and delivered when the defense struggled. The Badgers gained 397 yards on the day, averaging 8.1 yards per snap, and put up 28 points on the scoreboard.

True freshman tailback Braelon Allen bowled over Nebraska to the tune of 228 yards on over 10 yards per carry with three touchdowns, and UW gained 252 yards on the ground overall.

It was not necessarily a balanced day on the offense, but the passing attack came through in a complementary way. Quarterback Graham Mertz completed 12-of-18 passes for 145 yards with one touchdown. He did not commit a turnover through the air or via fumble. The offensive line allowed just one sack and Nebraska only recorded two tackles for loss on the day.

Seniors Jake Ferguson and Kendric Pryor hauled in key passes from Mertz. The former reeled in eight passes for 92 yards, while the latter recorded two catches for 45 yards and a 17-yard touchdown.

One area where the offense regressed was third-down conversions. UW only moved the chains on 3-of-9 opportunities against Nebraska.

This was Wisconsin's worst performance of the 2021 season. We all knew Nebraska could put up yardage against defenses, and Scott Frost's offense absolutely did -- accumulating 452 yards on 6.5 yards per snap.

Quarterback Adrian Martinez completed 23-of-35 throws for 351 yards with one touchdown, and the fourth-year junior also gained 23 yards rushing and recorded a one-yard score on the ground.

The Badgers, best in the nation on third-down conversion defense at just under 24%, allowed 4-of-9 in that category to the Huskers.

UW allowed two Huskers to go over 100 yards receiving on the day. Tight end Austin Allen gashed Wisconsin for 143 yards on seven receptions, while wide receiver Samori Toure caught seven throws as well for 113 yards with a touchdown.

Nebraska gained 101 yards on 35 carries with three rushing scores, but did so on only 2.9 yards per carry.

UW recorded zero sacks and three tackles for loss on the day, but it forced two Martinez interceptions. Both of those came down in the arms of safety Collin Wilder, whose first pick led to a four-play, 33-yard touchdown drive.

The special teams have improved from earlier in the year, but there were still some mistakes. Wide receiver Stephan Bracey kickstarted Wisconsin's scoring with a 91-yard kickoff return for a game-opening touchdown. He finished with 138 yards on three returns in a much-needed spark for this unit.

Andy Vujnovich averaged 44 yards on his two punts, and Collin Larsh converted all five extra point attempts. However, the placekicker pulled a 33-yard field goal wide left in the second quarter, though it appears the snap was high. There was also a kickoff immediately after Allen's game-winning 53-yard touchdown that went out of bounds, allowing Nebraska to begin its next drive with good field position at its 35 with 3:50 to play in the contest.

Another career day achieved for the true freshman, rushing for 228 yards on 22 carries with three more touchdowns on the ground. He electrified the Camp Randall faithful with big scores of 71 and 53 yards.

Allen once again displayed that you simply cannot lay a shoulder into or arm tackle him in bringing him down. His combination of maturity, vision, patience and physical attributes shined brightly.

And yes, he's only 17 years old.

Knocking off another square in Wisconsin's telecast BINGO (Did you know he's Barry Alvarez's grandson?!), Ferguson left a mark in his final game at Camp Randall Stadium.

The fifth-year senior had eight receptions for 92 yards. Five of those eight grabs resulted in first downs, which included a long of 35 in the second quarter.

Give credit where credit's due, Nebraska gave Wisconsin fits all afternoon. Allen and Toure combined for 14 catches for 256 yards. They also were part of eight of Nebraska's 10 passing plays that went over 15 yards, according to StatBroadcast. Both appear to also have the ability to play on Sundays as well.

The sixth-year defensive back embraced his final home game as a Badger, recording two tackles and reeling in two interceptions off of errant Martinez throws.

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