Huskers Meet #16 Badgers in Madison

NEBRASKA at WISCONSIN
OCT. 6, 2018 | CAMP RANDALL STADIUM
MADISON, WIS. | 6:30 P.M. (CT)

BROADCAST INFO
TV - BTN (Keving Kugler, Matt Millen, Rick Pizzo)
RADIO - Husker Sports Network (Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, Ben McLaughlin)
SATELLITE RADIO - Sirius Channel 126, XM 384
INTERNET RADIO - Huskers.com, TuneIn.com
APP AUDIO - Official Huskers App, TuneIn App

HUSKERS
Record: 0-4, 0-2 Big Ten
Last Game: lost to Purdue, 42-28
Rankings: NR
Coach: Scott Frost
Career/NU Record: 19-11 (3rd Year)/0-4 (1st Year) 
vs. Wisconsin: 0-0

BADGERS
Record: 3-1, 1-0 Big Ten
Last Game: def. Iowa, 28-17
Rankings: AP-16, Coaches-12
Coach: Paul Chryst
Career/Wisconsin Record: 56-27 (6th Year)/37-8 (4th Year)
vs. Nebraska: 3-0

The Matchup
Nebraska will travel to Wisconsin on Saturday for its second road test in three weeks against a nationally ranked opponent. Kickoff from Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday evening will be shortly after 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on BTN and can be heard on the IMG Husker Sports Network.

Nebraska heads to Wisconsin with an 0-4 record and an 0-2 mark in the Big Ten Conference. The Huskers fell to Purdue, 42-28, on Saturday in Lincoln despite a strong offensive effort. Nebraska gained 582 yards in the loss, with a balanced attack that featured 259 rushing yards and 323 yards through the air.

Wisconsin has captured the past two Big Ten West crowns and enters the matchup with a 3-1 record, including 1-0 in Big Ten play. Wisconsin is ranked No. 16 in this week's AP poll and 12th in the coaches poll. The Badgers opened conference action on Sept. 22 with a hard-fought, 28-17, road win at Iowa, before having a bye last weekend.

The Badgers have their traditional power running game in full gear in 2018, averaging 266 yards per game on the ground to rank first in the Big Ten and eighth nationally. Wisconsin has also been tough on defense early in the season, allowing just 14.5 points per game.

This Week's Numbers
200 - Nebraska features a balanced offensive attack, averaging 203.5 rushing yards per game and 207.2 passing yards per contest. Nebraska is one of 31 teams in the country who are averaging 200 yards in both rushing and passing.

10 - Nebraska senior running back Devine Ozigbo averaged 10.0 yards per rush against Purdue last Saturday. Ozigbo rushed for a career-high 170 yards on 17 carries and had a pair of rushing touchdowns.

2 - Nebraska sophomore receiver JD Spielman snagged 10 receptions against Purdue for the second double-figure reception game of his career. Spielman is one of only two Huskers with two double-digit reception games in their career, joining Marlon Lucky.

Nebraska-Wisconsin Series

• Including this Saturday's matchup, at least one of the teams has been ranked in 11 of 13 all-time meetings between the schools.

• Nebraska and Wisconsin will be playing for the Freedom Trophy for the fifth time in 2018. The trophy debuted in 2014 when the schools were aligned in the Big Ten West and began meeting each year. 

• Nebraska and Wisconsin have met seven times as Big Ten schools, including twice in 2012 when the teams met in the Big Ten Championship Game.   

• Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez played at Nebraska from 1965 to 1967. The Huskers defeated Wisconsin in both 1965 and 1966 while Alvarez was a Husker.

Huskers to Face Another Ranked Opponent on Road
The trip to Madison will be Nebraska's second road game in three weeks against a ranked opponent. The Huskers lost at No. 19 Michigan on Sept. 22 in their Big Ten opener.

• Nebraska will be looking for its first win over a ranked opponent since a win over No. 22 Oregon in Lincoln in 2016. It would also be the highest ranked team Nebraska has defeated since a 39-38 win over No. 6 Michigan State in 2015. 

• The Huskers' last road win over a ranked opponent was a 17-14 win at No. 12 Penn State in 2011. 

• Head Coach Scott Frost led UCF to three consecutive wins against ranked teams to complete the 2017 season, capping the perfect campaign with a win over No. 7 Auburn in the Peach Bowl. Frost was 3-1 overall against ranked opponents at UCF.

Nebraska Adds Game with Bethune-Cookman
Nebraska has added a game against Bethune-Cookman University on Oct. 27 at Memorial Stadium to fill an opening on the 2018 football schedule. The contest will replace the Huskers’ Sept. 1 game against Akron which was canceled due to severe storms in Lincoln.

Bethune-Cookman plays in the Football Championship Subdivision and owns a 1-3 record in 2018. The Wildcats compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and posted a 6-2 record in league play in 2017. Coach Terry Sims in his fourth season guiding the BCU program.

• With the addition of the game against Bethune-Cookman, Nebraska will play 12 consecutive weeks and will not have a bye. The 2018 season will mark the first time in school history Nebraska has played 12 consecutive weeks. . 

NU Looks to Find Success in the Running Game
Nebraska churned out 329 rushing yards in the opener against Colorado, and has shown the ability to feature a strong rushing attack this season. Nebraska churned out 329 rushing yards in the opener against Colorado, and has shown the ability to feature a strong rushing attack this season. 

• Nebraska had 259 rushing yards against Purdue last week, marking the third time in four games the Huskers have topped 180 rushing yards. NU is averaging 203.5 rushing yards per game to rank seventh in the Big Ten. 

• The rushing total against Colorado bettered Nebraska's season highs from 2017. In fact, the Huskers had 243 rushing yards by halftime, surpassing last year's single-game high of 225 yards against Arkansas State. 

• The 329 rushing yards were Nebraska's most yards on the ground since rushing for 458 yards against Illinois in 2014. 

• Nebraska surpassed 300 yards on the ground for the first time since rushing for 310 yards at Northwestern on Sept. 24, 2016. 

• Adrian Martinez (117) and running back Greg Bell (104) both cracked the century mark on the ground. That marked the first time Nebraska had a pair of 100-yard rushers in the same game since a 2014 win over Illinois.

• Nebraska added a third 100-yard rushing game against Purdue when running back Devine Ozigbo churned out a career-high 170 yards.

• Ozigbo's 170 rushing yards were the most by a Husker in a Big Ten game since Ameer Abdullah had 225 rushing yards against Rutgers in 2014.

• Nebraska had a pair of runs of 40 yards or more against Colorado–a 41-yard touchdown by Martinez and a 45-yard rush by Bell. That was the first time Nebraska had two runs of at least 40 yards in a game since a 2014 win at Fresno State..

Rushing Battle Often Holds the Key to Success
The ability to win the running game battle has long been key to victory for the Huskers. Nebraska has three losses this season while controlling the run game, which is a rarity.

• Before the Colorado loss, Nebraska had won 15 consecutive games when holding an advantage in rushing yards. 

• Scott Frost is 11-4 in his coaching career when his team out-rushes the opponent. 

• Nebraska has won 28 of its last 30 games when holding the opponent to fewer than 100 yards rushing, dating back to 2009.

• Frost and staff are 6-2 over the past three seasons when holding the opponent to under 100 rushing yards.

Offense Hopes to Sustain Momentum at Wisconsin
Head Coach Scott Frost and his staff oversaw one of the nation's most potent offenses at UCF in 2017. Nebraska has shown signs this season of an explosive offense, beginning with its effort in the opener with Colorado when NU had 565 yards of total offense.

Nebraska is coming off a season-high offensive output with 582 yards against Purdue, including 259 rushing yards and 323 on the ground.

• The 565 yards against Colorado marked the first 500-yard total offense game for the Huskers since posting 556 yards at Northwestern in 2016.

• The total offense output against Colorado was the best at the time by Nebraska in 35 games, dating back to a 610-yard effort against Southern Miss in 2015.

• Nebraska ranks seventh in the Big Ten in total offense at 410.8 yards per game and is one of only 31 teams in the nation averaging at least 200 yards in both rushing and passing.

Nebraska Passing Game Led by Record-Setting Tandem
In 2017, Stanley Morgan Jr. and JD Spielman combined for 1,816 receiving yards, the highest two-player total in Husker history.

Morgan set an NU record with 986 receiving yards in 2017. Spielman added 830 receiving yards, a total that ranked seventh in school history and was the most ever by a Husker freshman.

• In four games in 2018, the duo has combined for 40 receptions for 521 yards and five touchdowns.

Morgan Aims to be Nebraska's All-Time Leading Receiver
After setting a school record with 986 receiving yards in 2017, Stanley Morgan Jr. is challenging to become Nebraska’s all-time leading receiver this fall.

Morgan has 136 career receptions, which ranks in a tie for fifth on NU’s all-time list. He needs 45 receptions to tie Kenny Bell (181) atop the Husker chart. Morgan has 2,012 career receiving yards to rank fifth on Nebraska’s all-time list. Morgan needs 677 yards to tie Bell (2,689) for the most receiving yards in program history.

The New Orleans native put himself in position to challenge Nebraska’s all-time records thanks to a breakout junior season, when he earned All-Big Ten accolades. Morgan caught 61 passes for 986 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2017.

• Morgan set Nebraska records with 986 receiving yards and five 100-yard receiving games in 2017, while ranking third in school history in touchdown receptions (10) and fifth in catches (61).

• He led the Big Ten and ranked 14th nationally in receiving yards per game (89.6) in 2017. His 986 receiving yards ranked second nationally among players who saw action in 11 or fewer games.

• Morgan led all Big Ten wide receivers and ranked 16th nationally in touchdown catches with his 10 touchdown grabs.

• He produced his first five career 100-yard receiving efforts in 2017, leading the Big Ten in that category.

• Morgan posted 185 receiving yards at No. 13 Penn State, the second-highest total in school history.

• He has had at least three catches in 16 straight games. Morgan has a streak of 30 consecutive games with a reception, the fourth-longest streak in Husker history.

• Morgan had 69 receiving yards against Purdue and in the process became the fifth Husker with 2,000 career receiving yards.

Defense to Face Badgers' Powerful Run Game
The Nebraska defense has shown signs of improved play this fall, and will be put to the test at Wisconsin on Saturday. The Badgers rank first in the Big Ten and eighth nationally in rushing at 266 yards per game. Wisconsin has topped 200 yards in each of its four games, including a 417-yard rushing effort against New Mexico.

• Nebraska recorded seven sacks for 43 yards against Colorado. The seven sacks were the most for the Huskers since also recording seven at Michigan in 2013–a span of 56 games. The last time Nebraska had more than seven sacks was in the 2009 Big 12 title game against Texas, when the Huskers had nine sacks.

• Nebraska added three sacks against Troy and has 12 sacks in four games. Nebraska is nearing its 2017 team sack total. The Huskers finished last season with 14 sacks for 85 yards.

• Nebraska limited Colorado to 44 rushing yards, including just 12 first-half rushing yards. The 44 yards rushing are the fewest by a Nebraska opponent since Maryland rushed for 11 yards in 2016.

Nebraska's full notes package can be found in the PDF file at the top of this page