Game Day Guide: What you need to know for Nebraska-Wisconsin
Once again, it’s a meeting of two teams seeking bowl eligibility. Will Nebraska or Wisconsin walk away with the much-needed sixth win Saturday night?
Once again, it’s a meeting of two teams seeking bowl eligibility. Will Nebraska or Wisconsin walk away with the much-needed sixth win Saturday night?
Well . . .
What we know is that Wisconsin is the favorite to win this one. That isn’t a surprise. It was expected that Nebraska would be the underdog in most of its remaining matchups this season. That doesn’t matter much though. This one — like many of the Huskers’ matchups this season — could be a tossup.
The biggest reason why is Nebraska’s defense, specifically the run defense. The Huskers rank third in FBS with 79.6 yards per game. With Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen banged up — Badgers head coach Luke Fickell wasn’t sure when asked this week how much to expect from Allen on Saturday — things get especially interesting fast,
Wisconsin will put a lot on the shoulders of quarterback Tanner Mordecai, who has only thrown three touchdown passes over 6 ½ half games this season. There’s a lot of opportunity for the Blackshirts to have a big day in Madison.
It’s Nebraska’s offense that provides the biggest question mark though. If Heinrich Haarberg is unable to play — he made the trip but a high-ankle sprain is a high-ankle sprain — coach Matt Rhule said he’s prepared to play either Chubba Purdy, Jeff Sims, or both. Rhule had said earlier in the week that he was prepared to take the decision to game day, and it seems likely we won’t officially know what’s happening until pre-game warmups begin. (There will be reports so certainly keep an eye out for that, but warmups always tend to confirm based on who is paired with center Ben Scott.)
We’ll end here: Nebraska has not won a matchup at Camp Randall as a member of the Big Ten Conference. That’s five trips in 12 years. More so, Nebraska is currently on a nine-game losing streak to the Badgers.
Does that change in 2023? Maybe. It’s certainly possible, as the story goes for Nebraska at this point in the season.
A reminder that we’ll have our weekly game day chat for paid subscribers live as the Huskers start warming up and information becomes available. Keep an eye out for that as well.
Nebraska versus Wisconsin: Everything you need to know for game day
TV Channel: NBC
Date: Saturday, November 18
Time: 6:30 p.m. CT
How to Stream: Streaming is available on both the NBC and Peacock apps using your television or streaming carrier.
Radio: Nebraska fans can listen to the game on the Huskers Radio Network. Internet radio, as well as a Spanish broadcast, will be available at Huskers.com.
Location: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin
Weather: Mainly sunny throughout the day with a high of 54 degrees and a low near 30 degrees. Winds light and variable.
Line: Wisconsin -6
Over/Under: 37
Notable quotes
Head coach Matt Rhule on Nebraska’s quarterback situation between Chubba Purdy and Jeff Sims:
“Chubba (Purdy) has done a really nice job this week. Obviously, any time you have the things that transpired last week, I think everyone comes in determined, knowing that they can fix some of those things, and I think we fixed a lot of things, as a staff, as players. They’ve been able to get a lot of reps and they’ve done a really nice job. We’re prepared to play either one or both.”
Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell on running back Braelon Allen’s status:
“I don’t know. We’ll have to see. Last week, he didn’t do a bunch and it was going to be a game time decision and we’ll have to see this week and I couldn’t answer that. Obviously moved around a little bit last night, but we did not do a ton. So it wasn’t like we could evaluate a lot of guys on anything that we did last night.
“Normally, we do maybe a little bit more, but in the last two, three weeks of the season, sometimes Sundays become lighter and lighter and a little bit more mental work. So we hope, but we’ll have to see.”
Other games we’re watching
(All games in CT)
Erin
Morning - Purdue at Northwestern, 11 a.m., Big Ten Network
I don’t know. This feels like it’ll either be a boring Big Ten matchup, or absolute chaos. I’m not sure why exactly, but it’s just giving me the vibe that chaos could be lurking in Evanston. Purdue is 3-7 on the season, while Northwestern is 5-5. Do the Wildcats get bowl eligible?
Afternoon - UCLA at USC, 2:30 p.m., ABC
Ah, yes, another classic Big Ten matchup. Aside from that, there’s also a lot of talk that the Bruins might fire head coach Chip Kelly after losing three of their last five games and only scoring 17 combined points over the last two weeks. Lincoln Riley and USC aren’t exactly having the season they hoped for either, letting go of defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. Anyway, go Big Ten football.
Evening - No. 21 Kansas State at No. 25 Kansas, 6 p.m., FS1
The Wildcats are an 8-point favorite in this one, which feels a little wild. Maybe not though, because Kansas does have some questions at quarterback. Could the Jayhawks still spoil the potential of a Big 12 Championship for Kansas State? Possibly. It’ll be a good game to check in on while watching Nebraska and Wisconsin.
Brandon
Morning - No. 10 Louisville at Miami, 11 a.m., ABC
And the noon slot comes alive? It’s felt all year as though there were fewer 11 a.m. games, but we’ve got 15 this week. That the “Big Noon Saturday” game is Michigan-Maryland should tell you what we’re working with this week in all three of the classic time slots. I’ll pull up a chair for some ACC football in the morning as Playoff-contender Louisville–yes, it’s remote but it is possible–tangles with Miami. If the Hurricanes take a loss here it drops Mario Cristobal to 11-12 at Miami with one game left in his second season. Not exactly what you want to see if you’re a Canes fan.
Afternoon - UNLV at Air Force, 2:30 p.m., CBSSN
Here’s a fun story that was easy to miss/forget: Bobby Petrino accepted the job to be UNLV’s offensive coordinator last winter, but then Jimbo Fisher called because he’d basically been forced to do something to turn Texas A&M around and that something was giving over some control of the offense. Fisher swiped Petrino away from the Rebels, so Barry Odom went out and hired Brennan Marion. UNLV’s offense currently ranks 18th in scoring and 22nd in rushing (playing much of the season with a backup QB), meanwhile Fisher was fired (playing much of the season with a backup QB). Anyway, three weeks ago Air Force looked like it might land a CFP bowl slot, but has since dropped consecutive games. The Falcons and Rebels, both 8-2 overall, are currently tied atop the Mountain West at 5-1. This game should be awesome.
Evening - No. 5 Washington at No. 11 Oregon State, 6:30 p.m., ABC
Here’s how good Oregon State is–it’s favored in this game. It’s only by 1.5 points, sure, and if this were on a neutral field the undefeated Huskies would have a slight edge, but so what? The Beavers got absolutely screwed in the disintegration of the Pac-12, but they have a chance to really screw things up for the league in its last year as we know it. Oregon State plays the conference’s top playoff contender this week and it’s second-best bet, Oregon, next week. Let’s fell some trees, Beavs.