MADISON - With just 3:11 left on the clock, Wisconsin had the football, trailing by five to Nebraska. On the line? Bowl eligibility, an eight-game win streak over the Cornhuskers, and the Freedom Trophy.

“My message was, we have great field position. It was right at the 50,” quarterback Graham Mertz said. “We do this everyday, it’s just five first downs and we win the game.”

With star tailback Braelon Allen knocked out of the game and Mertz having an iffy day throwing the football, Wisconsin turned to Isaac Guerendo, its fifth-year senior running back and top backup at the position. He got the ball on the drive’s first three plays; a run of five, a run of eight, and a run of three. Enough for a first down, but the Badgers needed to do more than just inch closer.

Nebraska had limited Wisconsin’s offense all afternoon; the Badgers had put up just nine points to this point. But while it’s not like Wisconsin had the Huskers right where they wanted them, there was no sense of disarray on offense.

“It wasn’t too big,” Mertz said of that critical moment.

“They gave us several chances,” Guerendo said confidently. “And we still had a lot of time left.”

Guerendo played with that same confidence all game, and especially on the final drive. After giving Guerendo the ball three straight times on the ground, Bobby Engram’s offense elected to go to the air on second and seven. But they weren’t done feeding “IG.”

“It was something we had repped all week,” the halfback said of what would transpire next. “I was running my normal route, and the defender kinda over-played it, so I slipped him inside and Graham gave me a chance to make a play.”

Guerendo lined up in the backfield and sprinted out towards the flat when the ball was snapped. The defender responsible for him in coverage, sophomore defensive back Javin Wright, over-pursued and gave Guerendo inside leverage. That was all he needed.

“I was able to capitalize,” Guerendo said succinctly.

Mertz rolled to his right and fired a pass through the wind downfield, where Guerendo made a sensational over-the-shoulder catch, leaping through the air and tumbling down at the Nebraska seven yard-line. Understanding the definition of “hot hand,” Engram handed Guerendo the ball on the next play, making it four touches in a row. Wisconsin would score two plays later and hold on to narrowly escape Lincoln with a one-point victory.

“That catch he made was just ridiculous,” Mertz raved. “I kinda hung it up in the air, the wind kinda brought it up, and then down a little bit. I thought I overthrew him at first…but he’s just got so much make-up speed. Crazy catch.”

Guerendo’s potentially season-saving catch was one of many explosive plays the halfback has produced this year. In wins over Purdue and Maryland, he scored a 54-yard rushing touchdown and an 89-yard rushing touchdown in back-to-back weeks. However, it hasn’t all come on the ground for Guerendo. His receiving prowess has been on display this season, and it’s been coming in the form of spectacular catches. His 21-yard touchdown grab against Illinois, for instance, was a thing of beauty. And given his background, it should come as no surprise.

Guerendo was a wide receiver at Avon High School just outside of Indianapolis, where his track-level speed helped round him into a three-star recruit in the 2018 class. He was technically recruited to Wisconsin as an athlete, but the Badgers knew they had to find ways to get him the ball in some capacity. By the start of his sophomore season, he was playing exclusively running back.

So Guerendo has a background as a receiver. Regardless, he’s made two of the best grabs Wisconsin has made all season. Wide outs with elite speed don’t always have to make a ton of contested catches in high school. Has he always had elite hands like that?

“That’s what I’d like to think,” he laughed.

The rest of the running back room wasn’t surprised either.

“We already knew he could do that. I think he could do more,” Chez Mellusi said. “I think he could line up out there at wide out and be super productive.”

“He’s a playmaker, I mean, he’s been doing that. Ever since I came here, he’s been an explosive player,” Allen said. “(I’m) just glad he’s finally been able to showcase that and stay healthy and have a huge impact for our team.”

There’s many mouths to feed in the Badgers’ backfield. Therefore, Guerendo’s season stats may appear modest. He’s amassed 350 yards rushing and five touchdowns, while hauling in 13 passes for 103 yards and a score. Looking at his explosiveness, however — 6.0 yards-per-carry, touchdown runs of 54 and 89 yards and two catches of over 20 yards — paints an entirely different, and more accurate, picture of the impact Guerendo has had in Madison this year.

Mertz has displayed immense confidence in Guerendo catching the ball, and it’s manifested in plays like the Illinois catch and the one in Lincoln. Seeing as how Guerendo is a backup running back, it speaks volumes that Mertz has so much trust in his hands.

“He has trust in everybody,” Guerendo said assuredly of Mertz. “When he’s playing confident, he’s able to make plays like that.”

Mertz may trust his whole offense, but he’s certainly fond of his senior halfback. Clutch moments tell you a lot about a quarterback, and Mertz just showed just how much he trusts Guerendo with the game on the line. It’s not just his sure-handedness Mertz loves, though. He salivates over his speed as well.

“First off, a guy like that with so much speed, that gives you confidence to just put it out there and let him run under it,” the quarterback said. “Whenever you get a guy with that speed running (open) like that, you wanna take (a shot).”

Guerendo will have one more game to put a finale on his inspired 2022 performance when bitter rival Minnesota comes to town. As an elder statesman of the team, Guerendo knows just how much the Axe game means.

“Being a part of the team in the past that lost that long streak that we had…Looking in the senior’s eyes after we lost that game, after we lost that Axe, you definitely feel it,” Guerendo said.

“You really can’t put it into words how much this means to this program.”

As the doors close on his senior season, Guerendo has another year of eligibility to use should he want to run it back. He hasn’t made any decisions yet, and is taking things one step at a time. He described his mindset as “just trying to stay present right now.”

A game away from wrapping up his best season as a Badger yet, Guerendo is living in the moment. And what a moment it will be on Saturday as the Badgers host their archrival and honor their seniors.

“Knowing that it could potentially be the last time I ever put the Motion "W" on in Camp Randall, it’s definitely an emotional feeling,” Guerendo said. “But it also just drives me to leave everything I have out there.”

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