Madison, Wis. - Nebraska capitalized on three early fumbles by Wisconsin to jump to an early 17-3 lead, but the No. 22 Badgers took control midway through the second quarter at Camp Randall Stadium to hand the Huskers a 59-24 loss.
With the setback, AP No. 11 Nebraska slipped to 8-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten, while Wisconsin improved to 8-2 and 5-1 in the conference. The Badgers climbed into sole possession of first place in the Big Ten West Division standings.
Nebraska's Blackshirts forced four first-half fumbles by the Badgers, including two by Melvin Gordon. The Huskers turned the first three Wisconsin miscues into 17 points in the game's first 16 minutes.
The Huskers started the scoring with a 32-yard field goal less than three minutes into the game to give NU a 3-0 lead. Just 3:03 later, Tommy Armstrong Jr. connected with Kenny Bell on a 12-yard touchdown pass to give the Huskers a 10-0 lead.
After Wisconsin found the scoreboard, the Blackshirts forced a fumble by Gordon that was recovered by the Huskers at the Badger 30. Eight plays later, Armstrong sprinted left untouched to paydirt to give the Big Red a 17-3 lead with 14:12 remaining in the first half.
The rest of the game belonged to Gordon and the Badgers, who scored 21 straight points to take a 24-17 lead into the halftime locker room. Gordon rumbled for more than 230 yards in the first half, including a 62-yard touchdown run. Gordon added first-half runs of 44, 42 and 39 yards to amass 187 yards on those four carries.
Gordon finished by rushing for an NCAA FBS record 408 yards and four TDs on 25 carries, as Wisconsin rushed for 581 yards in the win. Gordon's yardage broke the previous record of 406 by LaDainian Tomlinson in 1999.
Gordon kept going in the second half, including third-quarter runs of 43 and 68 yards. On his 68-yard gallop, Gordon broke Wisconsin's all-time single-game rushing record. On the next play, Gordon scored his third touchdown of the game, this time from six yards out, to reach 369 yards on the day and give the Badgers a 38-17 lead with 5:46 left in the third quarter.
After a Husker punt, the Badgers went 58 yards on six plays as Tanner McEvoy went the final 11 yards for the score. On NU's next offensive series, Marcus Trotter recovered the Armstrong fumble, and Wisconsin needed two plays to convert with Gordon scoring his fourth touchdown of the day, a 26-yard run which put him over 400 yards, on the final play of the quarter to make it 52-17.
The teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter with Terrell Newby scoring the Huskers' final score, a touchdown from 1-yard out.
The Huskers return home for another key Big Ten West Division clash on Saturday, Nov. 22, when they take on Minnesota. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. and the Senior Day match-up will be televised on ESPN.
Scoring Summary
Final: #11 Nebraska 24, #22 Wisconsin 59
Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014
Camp Randall Stadium (Madison, Wis.)
First Quarter (Nebraska, 10-3)
NEB - 12:24 - Drew Brown 32 FG, 6 plays, 14 yards, 1:45 - NEB 3-0
NEB - 9:21 - Kenny Bell 12 pass from Tommy Armstrong Jr. (Brown kick good), 5 plays, 43 yards, 1:59 - NEB 10-0
WIS - 6:10 - Rafael Gaglianone 26 FG, 7 plays, 67 yards, 3:11 - NEB 10-3
Second Quarter (Wisconsin, 24-17)
NEB - 14:12 - Armstrong 5 run (Brown kick), 8 plays,30 yards, 3:53 - NEB 17-3
WIS - 12:21 - Melvin Gordon 62 run (Gaglianone kick), 4 plays, 77 yards, 1:45 - NEB 17-10
WIS - 7:21 - Corey Clement 17 run (Gaglianone kick), 2 plays, 56 yards, 0:41 - 17-17
WIS - 3:31 - Sam Arneson 5 pass from Joel Stave (Gaglianone kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:38 - WIS 24-17
Third Quarter (Wisconsin, 38-17)
WIS - 8:06 - Gordon 1 run (Gaglianone kick), 4 plays, 58 yards, 1:55 - WIS 31-17
WIS - 5:46 - Gordon 6 run (Gaglianone kick), 2 plays, 74 yards, 0:41 - WIS 38-17
WIS - 1:00 - McEvoy 11 run (Gaglianone Kick), 6 plays, 58 yards: 3:09, WIS 45-17
WIS - 0:00 - Gordon 25 run (Gaglianone kick), 2 plays, 26 yards, 0:12 - WIS 52-17
Fourth Quarter (Wisconsin, 59-24)
WIS - 5:34 - Ogunbowale 8 run (Gaglianone kick) - 7 plays, 51 yards, 4:02 - WIS 59-17
NEB - 2:55 - Newby 1 run (Brown kick) - 1 play, 1 yards, 0:06 - WIS 59-24
Attendance: 80,539
Time of Game: 3:34
Game Start: 2:36 p.m. (central)