MADISON, WIS. -- Wisconsin retained the Freedom Trophy, and most importantly, held on to control of its path to Indianapolis with a 35-28 win over Nebraska on Saturday inside Camp Randall Stadium.

The Badgers (8-3 overall, 6-2 Big Ten) saw their offense step up further while the defense felt the onslaught of quarterback Adrian Martinez and the Huskers' (3-8, 1-7) offense.

BadgerBlitz.com presents its takeaways from the Big Ten West clash.

The true freshman tailback again went off, finishing with a career-high 228 yards on 22 carries with three touchdowns. It was the seventh straight contest the Fond du Lac, Wis., native hit 100 or more yards.

Allen's 71-yard touchdown in the first quarter once again displayed that you need to wrap the back up, as he bounced off an attempted tackle (or shoulder block?) and sprinted across the north end zone's goal line. Then in the fourth quarter, he displayed the ability to burst through the hole in the second and third levels of the Nebraska defense, eluding one final Husker defender on way for his 53-yard go-ahead score.

Allen now enters the final game of the regular season with 1,062 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. UW's game notes also state that the former four-star product joins 18 other Badgers who have accumulated 1,000 yards during a season. The only true freshmen to do so besides him? Ron Dayne (1996), James White (2010) and Jonathan Taylor (2017).

That's pretty good company.

Throughout the early part of the season, the offense joneeded to be picked up by the defense's performances.

On Saturday, the roles were flipped.

UW's offense gained 397 yards, averaging 8.1 yards per play, and scored 28 points. It rolled up 252 yards on the ground, the aforementioned 228 from Allen, and 145 through the air.

It was not necessarily a balanced day due to the true freshman's success. However, 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.

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

The offensive line allowed just one sack, and Nebraska only recorded two tackles for loss.

Nebraska challenged Wisconsin's defense, arguably the best in the nation heading into Saturday's contest, all day on Saturday.

Overall, Wisconsin gave up a season-high 452 yards, just about six yards off Nebraska's average. Martinez completed 23-of-35 throws for 351 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. The fourth-year junior also finished with 23 yards rushing and a one-yard touchdown.

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.

Two Nebraska receivers went over 100 yards on the day. Tight end Austin Allen gashed Wisconsin for 143 yards on seven receptions, while wide receiver Samori Toure -- the Big Ten's leader in yards per catch coming into the game -- caught seven throws as well for 113 yards with a touchdown.

Nebraska gained 101 yards on 35 carries with three rushing scores, but Scott Frost's offense mustered only 2.9 yards per carry.

UW recorded zero sacks and three tackles for loss on the day, but the defense finished with five quarterback hurries.

Wisconsin and Nebraska were tied 14-14 at halftime, but it could have been a Badgers' lead heading into the locker room.

Wisconsin's first drive fizzled after a promising start. Pryor dropped a deep pass from Mertz that would have set up the offense in prime position to score, then running back Brady Schipper could not hold on to a fourth down throw from UW's QB1 that gave possession back to Nebraska.

In the second quarter, kicker Collin Larsh missed a 33-yard field goal that would have given UW a three-point advantage. It appeared the snap was high, for what it is worth.

Starting with the bright spot, third-year sophomore Stephan Bracey took the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown in his first game action of the 2021 season. The wide receiver has worked back from a torn right quad tendon, and he finished with 138 returns yards on three kickoff attempts.

Larsh missed the 33-yard field goal with 2:43 remaining before halftime. There was also a kickoff after Allen's 53-yard go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter that went out of bounds, giving Nebraska good field position to start its final drive.

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