Previewing Nebraska with Rivals.com's Husker Online
The No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers look to retain possession of yet another coveted trophy and stay in the race for a Big Ten West division championship when they face Nebraska on Saturday inside Memorial Stadium (11 a.m. CT, BTN).
Here are significant stats, players to know and key insight from a Q&A with HuskerOnline.com's Sean Callahan.
2019 TEAM STATS
*Record: 4-5, 2-4 Big Ten
*Points per game: 26.3
*Opponents points per game: 29.1
*Rushing yards per game: 186.3
*Opponents rushing yards per game: 173.7
*Passing yards per game: 222.8
*Opponents' passing yards per game: 232.3
*Third-down conversions: 40.6%
*Opponents' third-down conversions: 41.9%
*Total turnovers created: 14 (10 interceptions, four fumbles recovered)
*Total turnovers given up: 17 (six interceptions, 11 fumbles lost)
*Sacks: 21
*Sacks allowed: 21
PLAYERS TO WATCH: OFFENSE
*Quarterback Adrian Martinez: 59.5 completion percentage, 1,492 yards, seven touchdowns, six interceptions; 399 rushing yards, 4.1 yards per carry, five rushing touchdowns
*Running back Dedrick Mills: 398 rushing yards, 4.4 yards per carry, eight rushing touchdowns
*Running back/wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson: 326 yards, 3.8 yards per carry, three touchdowns; 40 receptions (leads team), 453 yards, two receiving touchdowns
*Wide receiver J.D. Spielman: 35 receptions, 689 yards (leads team), 19.7 yards per catch, one touchdown
PLAYERS TO WATCH: DEFENSE
*Inside linebacker Mohamed Barry: 69 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack
*Safety Marquel Dismuke: 58 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups
*Inside linebacker Collin Miller: 53 tackles, four tackles for loss
*Inside linebacker Will Honas: 52 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack
*Outside linebacker JoJo Domann: 43 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks
*Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt: 38 tackles, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions
*Defensive lineman Khalil Davis: 31 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks
*Cornerback Lamar Jackson: 29 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, three interceptions, 12 pass breakups
*Defensive lineman Ben Stille: 23 tackles, five tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, four quarterback hurries
1. Nebraska comes into the game at 4-5, 2-4 in Big Ten play. We'll dive deeper into both sides of the ball in the following questions, but what's been the general feeling of why this team has not lived up to the preseason hype?
In short, they’ve just been their own worst enemy. Nebraska hasn’t been able to have its offense and defense click at the exact same time in a game. They blew a 17-0 lead at Colorado, a 14-3 home lead to Indiana and a 10-0 road lead at Purdue that should’ve been about 21-0. That is the line right now from this team being 7-2 or 6-3 to where they are right now. Ohio State and Minnesota soundly beat them. But those three losses have shaped this season and put it where it’s at today.
Adrian Martinez has also not been what people thought. Most expected him to have monster numbers, but the pieces around him have not been up to par. They are below average at wide receiver, their top running back Maurice Washington is no longer on the active roster and their offensive line struggles to get a push on inside run plays. It’s led to a lot of second- and third-and-long type situations. Also, Martinez has missed guys. At Purdue he missed at least three wide open receivers that would’ve been touchdowns.
On defense, they don’t get a consistent pass rush with four and when they blitz they don’t get home. They also struggle at inside linebacker making correct reads and covering tight ends and backs. Purdue completed 15 of their 31 passes against the inside linebackers, according to PFF.
2. We always ask about injuries. Who's out, who's in, who's iffy, and what impact could that have on Saturday's contest?
Coming off a bye week, this team is pretty healthy. They didn’t have starting safety Cam Taylor-Britt at Purdue, but that was because of illness. Running back/wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson is probably the one to watch, as he left the Purdue game with an unknown injury.
3. Offensively, quarterback Adrian Martinez has played in seven of the nine games due to injury, and his completion percentage has dropped from his freshman year though he leads the team in rushing this season. What has been your assessment of his play when on the field, and who are the other playmakers that could give Wisconsin trouble this weekend?
Martinez just hasn’t looked like himself. He doesn’t have the confidence and swagger he had a year ago. He’s also been indecisive with how and when he runs. I think a lot of Big Ten teams have studied him after a year, and they attack him with better schemes. They also don’t have to blitz him, which puts an extra defender in coverage.
The one game where he really played well was Illinois, where he made a lot of quick, easy throws in Lovie Smith’s zone defense. Nebraska’s receivers struggle in press-man coverage to get open. It’s given them a lot of problems, and they don’t have anybody that consistently wins the 50-50 ball.
As for playmakers, J.D. Spielman and Robinson are the guys. They will produce nearly all of Nebraska’s plays over 20 yards. Robinson plays running back and receiver, and they have been giving him 25-plus touches the last few games.
4. Defensively, the unit has allowed 31 or more points in six of their nine games, and during the Huskers' current three-game losing streak has allowed a total of 103 points. What has led to struggles with this unit, but who are some of the bright spots as well?
It's been a little bit of everything. The magic numbers seem to be 31 points and 450 yards. Nebraska is undefeated when allowing under 450 yards on defense, and they’ve allowed 31 or more points in every Big Ten road game under Scott Frost, winning just one of those games.
They lack consistency in the pass rush and their linebackers really struggle in coverage. They choose to play four linebackers on passing downs, and that has hurt them as well. They drop their linebackers back in zone, and good passing teams have hurt them with match-ups.
As for the run, guys have made bad reads and have had blown assignments. That has led to a lot of big plays in the run game. They are solid physically, but teams know how to go at them in other ways, and that has hurt them.
5. On both sides of the ball, where could Nebraska give UW fits on Saturday -- and vice versa -- how could the Badgers take control against the Huskers?
The biggest thing I see being an advantage is a quarterback run game. Wisconsin hasn’t seen a lot of that this year at the level of Martinez, and I think if they can keep Wisconsin off-balanced with Martinez’s legs, that will give them their best chance. They need to find tempo on offense and operate with good rhythm.
As for the defense, very few teams have tried to just physically run straight at Nebraska. Indiana tried recently and stopped very early in the game and switched to a short passing attack. Will Wisconsin be able to have more success running straight at Nebraska? That will be something to watch.
6. What's your game prediction, and why?
This is a very tough match-up for Nebraska. Wisconsin is 7-1 vs. the Big Red since joining the league in 2011. Jonathan Taylor has 470 yards rushing on 49 carries in two meetings. There will be some moments where Nebraska makes this game interesting, but the Badgers have too much. I’ll say Wisconsin wins, 31-17.