It was a long time coming for Michigan native Scott Nelson.

Saturday was the first game action for Nelson since injuring his left leg in Week 1 last season against South Florida. That injury forced the redshirt junior to miss the rest of the year.

In his first three snaps against the Wolverines, Nelson snagged his second career interception and had a tackle for loss.

Nelson, 6-foot-2 and 204 pounds, is expected to play a larger role at safety with Reggie Pearson out indefinitely. His running mate in the secondary, Eric Burrell, praised the way Nelson sees the game and puts himself in position to make plays.

“He just has a good feel for the game. He’s a talented guy or he wouldn’t be here, but he’s very smart,” Burrell told reporters Monday. “What he did last Saturday, hell of a job, hat's off to him. He knew the game plan and he just executed.”

On the other side of the ball, senior fullback Mason Stokke has carved out a role for himself. For the second game in a row, the redshirt senior has found the end zone. Stokke scored once on the ground and once on a reception, bringing his season tally to three, topping his 2019 total of two touchdowns.

“Mason’s just a gritty football player, I love to have him on my side of the ball, on my team, on our offense,” Cole Van Lanen said. “He’s a dynamic player.”

Stokke and John Chenal have created a solid duo at fullback, a position that has become less common in college football. Chenal was second on the team in rushing against Michigan with 71 yards on six carries and already has a touchdown after a score in Week 1 against Illinois.

“I think Mason’s been doing great,” quarterback Graham Mertz said. “Him and John have been doing a good job really understanding protection and really doing a good job.”

One of the criticisms the Big Ten received after it decided to resume play this fall was the lack of byes or open dates. The revised eight-week, eight-game schedule has come to haunt the Badgers, who have already had to cancel two games due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the program.

Wisconsin will be able to play a maximum six regular season games, the necessary amount to remain eligible for the Big Ten title game.

“Just have to kind of block it out and control what you can control. We’re just focusing on winning football games and executing,” Van Lanen said. “We can control what we can control and try to make sure it doesn’t happen again, but we can’t control if another team has the same thing we had. It’s 2020, it’s unpredictable, it is what it is, but we’re just focusing on winning football games.”

With just three games left following the game this upcoming weekend, this contest could very well decide who wins the Big Ten West. Northwestern comes into Saturday with a spotless 4-0 record, while the Badgers boast the No.10 ranking in the country.

Wisconsin's 2019 defense, led by Zack Baun and Chris Orr, allowed just 39 points over its first six games and shut out opponents in four of their first six contests.

Jim Leonhard's current unit is doing its best to match those marks.

Jumping into Big Ten play to start the season, UW leads the country in total defense and scoring defense, surrendering just 218.5 yards per game and nine points per game through their first two contests. The team is also second best passing defense and sixth best against the run, allowing just 129.5 and 89 yards per game, respectively.

Burrell is happy with the performance of the unit but recognizes it is a small sample size.

“As far as our defense, we have played pretty well the two games we’ve had but we’ve got plenty more ahead,” Burrell said. “I think we do a good job with the game plan but the hard part is going out and executing it. I think we did a good job of doing that Saturday night and I think we were all playing off each other and for each other.”

Burrell said the team can attribute a lot of the success to the man who runs the show.

“That guy right there, he’s a genius. He (Leonhard) gets a lot of credit and it’s well deserved,” the redshirt senior safety told reporters Monday morning. “He does a good job. He studies film more than anybody. The defensive staff does a good job of coming together and putting us in the best position possible.”

A ankle injury early in the second half against the Wolverines knocked Burrell out of Saturday's contest. He told reporters he should be good to go for this Saturday’s matchup with Northwestern in Evanston.

“Yeah, I do plan on playing this week,” he said. “Just got a little dinged up on my ankle, but everything else is good.”