Can an Air Raider win one Big Ten-style?

And other questions ahead of Nebraska-Wisconsin, a Spider-Man meme of a game for the second year in a row.

Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

Are you ready for the second annual Spider-Man Meme Bowl Bowl?

Just 370 days ago I wrote this about the 2023 matchup between Nebraska and Wisconsin, a series where the Badgers had won nine in a row at that point:

But here in 2023, maybe the scales are balanced again. Both teams are 5-5 entering Saturday night’s matchup in Madison. Both teams are flailing a bit near the end of their first seasons under well-regarded head coaches. Both teams are about as bad at scoring points (Nebraska: 16.5 yards per point, Wisconsin: 16.7) as they are good at preventing points (Nebraska: 16.9 yards per point allowed, Wisconsin: 17.0).

Just need a few tweaks to update that for this year:

Here in 2024, maybe the scales are still balanced. Both teams are 5-5 entering Saturday afternoon’s matchup in Lincoln. Both teams are flailing near the end of their second seasons under well-regarded head coaches. Both teams are about as bad at scoring points (Nebraska: 15.5 yards per point, Wisconsin: 15.3) as they are good at preventing points (Nebraska: 14.8 yards per point allowed, Wisconsin: 15.4).

If you’re paying close attention, you may have noticed both offenses have gotten a bit better, both defenses a bit worse. Beyond that, this is basically the same game, which is wild but also the source of the uneasiness around both programs. Being the same isn’t the point of a voluntary coaching change.

I was actually making the vibes-based case that Nebraska and Wisconsin weren’t the same in last year’s game preview. Not sure I can do it this year as they’ve only gotten more similar.

Both teams have made offensive coordinator changes this month, Nebraska opting into what an Air Raid disciple might provide two weeks ago and Wisconsin opting out of what it had seen from an Air Raid disciple. Luke Fickell was still testy at his game-week press conference, like last year, and Matt Rhule was still not, but that both coaches made major late-season changes says the pressure on both programs to do something is probably about the same.

The winner Saturday goes to a bowl game, but there might be bigger ramifications. Both programs could use a boost, and whatever boost Saturday can provide is only available to one. Even though they’re unconnected beyond the games they play, it seems unlikely we’re in a spot three years from now where everyone agrees things worked out at both Wisconsin and Nebraska.

The winner three years from now won’t be decided Saturday, of course, but it’s an undercurrent to this game. How do the Huskers walk away as the team that released a little pressure? Let’s take a look.