LINCOLN, Neb. — Since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011, the Huskers and Badgers have had a number of high-stakes contests that have led to a budding rivalry between Big Ten powers, and this week’s battle for the Freedom Trophy was no different. It was still anybody’s ball game late in the fourth as momentum swung back and forth, but eventually it settled with Wisconsin (1-1 Big Ten, 4-2 overall) defeating Nebraska (0-2, 2-4) 23-21.
The final minutes of the game were like a yo-yo of Badger emotions, with sophomore kicker Rafael Gaglianone missing a potential 39-yard game-winning field goal with 1:26 left by hitting the upright, followed quickly by redemption as Gaglianone nailed a 46-yard field goal for the win.
The first quarter seemed like it was off to a good start for the Badgers. On their first offensive drive, redshirt senior quarterback Joel Stave looked good, scrambling for a first down on third-and-long, and then throwing a 14-yard pass to junior Robert Wheelwright before the wheels fell off and he threw three straight incompletions. The Cornhuskers forced a 43-yard field goal try, which Gaglianone missed, foreshadowing what was yet to come.
The Huskers and Badgers then traded three-and-outs and uneventful drives until the Badgers took over late in the quarter on a drive that spilled over into the second, when seemingly all of the first half’s action took place.
The Badgers’ struggles in the first quarter were a result of a running game that was sorely lacking. The team had seven rushes for 23 yards for a pedestrian 3.3 yards per carry. The worst part is that Stave, who is by no means a dual-threat QB, led the Badgers with 11 yards in the quarter.
“I don’t know if I would call it being shell shocked, but it was the first time some guys have seen [an environment like Nebraska], but once we adjusted for that, we started to take off,” redshirt freshman offensive tackle Beau Benzschawel said.
Wisconsin proved it has a short memory for its struggles on the first drive of the second quarter, a 13-play, 77-yard grind that soaked up 5:22 off the game clock and ended with a touchdown to sophomore tight end Troy Fumagalli, giving the Badgers the first score of the game and a 7-0 lead.
The touchdown was the first of Fumagalli’s career, and it came when Wisconsin needed him most. Last weekend against Iowa, senior tight end Austin Traylor left the game, and this week the team announced he would miss four to eight weeks with an injured right arm. Fumagalli was thrust into the starting role in a hostile road environment, and responded well, catching six balls for 60 yards and a touchdown.
Nebraska responded on its next drive, however, and the Badgers’ lead was relatively short-lived. Nebraska moved down the field in chunks until junior quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. broke down Wisconsin’s defense with a 41-yard rush into the red zone, surely the best offensive play of the afternoon to that point. However, Nebraska lined up with too many men in the backfield on the play, and the play was negated. A few plays later Armstrong scampered into the end zone for a seven-yard score to tie the game.
Wisconsin got the ball with 2:40 left, but was unable to make anything happen and punted the ball away. Nebraska only had two minutes on the clock, but made the most of the time it had, as Armstrong threw a 41-yard bomb for a touchdown to freshman wide receiver Stanley Morgan Jr., putting Nebraska up 14-7 as the game went to halftime.
The Badgers closed the gap in the score in a penalty-filled third quarter.
Following a missed Nebraska field goal, the Badgers nailed one, bringing the score to 14-10, with Nebraska still leading at the end of the third.
In the fourth quarter, what was a low scoring game turned into quite the opposite. On Wisconsin’s first drive of the quarter, the run game finally came alive, with junior running back Dare Ogunbowale and freshman Alec Ingold providing key conversions, and Ingold punching the ball into the end zone from one yard out to put the Badgers ahead 17-14.
After a Nebraska three-and-out, the Badgers once again rushed down the field, including a 32-yard scamper from Ogunbowale, and the drive ended in a 42-yard field goal that put UW ahead 20-14.
Nebraska received the ball with 6:17 left, and moved the ball near midfield, but stalled and was left going for it on third-and-one. However, Husker senior fullback Andy Janovich broke a couple tackles and turned the one yard they needed into a 55-yard score, going up 21-20 with 3:33 left and the crowd rocking as if the game was won.
On the ensuing Badger drive, the team sliced their way through the Nebraska secondary that ranks last in the nation in pass yards allowed, setting up Gaglianone for a potential game winning 39-yard field goal, easily in the kicker’s range. The kick had plenty of distance, but it "doinked" off the goal post, and the game seemed all but over as Nebraska took over with 1:26 left.
The Badger defense, however, had different plans. The unit forced yet another three-and-out, and due to the use of timeouts, the Wisconsin offense was somehow on the field with 1:03 left.
“Our coaches reminded us that we had three time outs ... and we had a lot of three-and-outs today, if we could do it one more time, we could give it to our offense, and have full faith,” senior linebacker Joe Schobert said.
Once again Wisconsin drove down through the air, and with four seconds on the clock, Gaglianone had his shot at redemption and seized it, to the tune of a 46-yard make to give the Badgers a dramatic 23-21 victory. Overall, despite ups and downs, head coach Paul Chryst was proud of his kicker and his team.
“His makes or misses are more visible, but I thought a lot of guys kept playing and picking each other up ... and that you appreciate as a coach,” Chryst said.
Wisconsin takes the field next week against Purdue (1-5, 0-2) at 11 a.m. at Camp Randall Stadium.
