Welcome to the Big Ten Nebraska Cornhicksters............

Tom Dienhart
Rivals.com College Football Senior Writer

http://w.sharethis.com/images/check-big.pnghttp://w.sharethis.com/images/check-big.png
MADISON, Wis. - On this night, no one was telling Big Ten jokes.
No one sardined into Camp Randall Stadium wearing red was poking fun at the Big Ten and its abysmal track record on the national stage.

Nope. On this night, none of that mattered. Instead, up and down State Street before the game and in the stands during the game, everyone was celebrating what makes the Big Ten great. Saturday was a big deal, as Nebraska was playing its first league game as a Big Ten member in the first matchup pitting top-10 teams in this stadium since 1962.

http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/Play...EEBALL_250.JPG	http://vmedia.rivals.com/images/spacer1.gif
http://vmedia.rivals.com/images/spacer1.gif
Montee Ball ran for our TDs against the hapless Huskers.

There were no SEC snobs on hand to see the Badgers rudely welcome Nebraska into the Big Ten with a 48-17 beatdown that, frankly, wasn't even that close. Too bad. "I just want to enjoy the night," said Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema, whose team is 5-0 and thinking big.
There is a lot to enjoy, as this Wisconsin team is good. And it may even be great. But if this was a preview of the Big Ten title game, then just cancel it.

We know Wisconsin is going to run away with the Leaders Division. Let's hope a team other than Nebraska ends up winning the Legends Division. Michigan? Michigan State? Iowa? Please.

But there's a bigger question than one about who wins the Legends Division: Is this Wisconsin team good enough to play for the BCS title?
"That's a good football team," Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. "They played well; we didn't. I give them all the credit in the world; they played well. We knew that they were a good football team coming in."
The Badgers sure looked national-title worthy in dispatching Nebraska. With T a shell of its former self, Wisconsin clearly is the Big Ten's best team. The Badgers are going to get a lot of attention. Pelini knows it.

"I apologize to the fans of Nebraska," he said. "Because that was a joke. Plain and simple."

[Saturday wrap: Megargee's winners and losers]
Could Wisconsin beat LSU? Could the Badgers topple Alabama? Could Wisconsin defeat Oklahoma? If things keep playing out like they did Saturday night, the Badgers may get a chance to show it in the BCS title game in New Orleans in January.

Who in the Big Ten is going to beat this team? Wisconsin will be favored in every remaining game, with its toughest tests figuring to come at Michigan State on Oct. 22 and at Illinois on Nov. 19. Forget about that trip to Ohio State on Oct. 29; that looks to be a cakewalk for the Badgers.

For the Badgers, it's all about the offense. In fact, this may be the best offense in the nation. The Badgers average 48.4 points and are winning games by an average of 38.2 points.

You can't find a weakness.

Massive, physical offensive line? Check.

Sensational tailback tandem? Check.

Big-play receivers? Check.

Superstar quarterback? Check.

http://vmedia.rivals.com/images/spacer1.gif	http://vmedia.rivals.com/IMAGES/Play...WILSON_250.JPG
http://vmedia.rivals.com/images/spacer1.gif
Russell Wilson shined once again as the Badgers rolled.

[More Wisconsin coverage: BadgerBlitz.com]
"I see some things in practice that are exciting," Bielema said. "Our combination of running backs, receivers, o-line, quarterback - it could be a special group."

Wisconsin finished with 485 yards Saturday night, slicing through a Nebraska defense that looked like one of Bill Callahan's pillow-soft units. As usual, the Badgers were fueled by a strong rushing game, one that generated 230 yards. Montee Ball was the star, running 30 times for 150 yards and four touchdowns.

Nebraska's only chance to win this game was to trade points with Wisconsin. That meant quarterback Taylor Martinez needed to pass well.

He failed. Martinez was 12-of-23 for 177 yards, with no touchdowns and three interceptions.

While Martinez flopped, Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson shined. Time and again, Wilson made something out of nothing, offering a pump fake and buying time with his feet to elude defenders while also ripping off long, back-breaking runs.

"He throws the ball as well on the run as he does from the pocket," Bielema said.

[More Nebraska coverage: HuskerOnline.com]
Scott Tolzien, Jim Sorgi, Brooks Bollinger, John Stocco, Darrell Bevell ... they were nice Badgers quarterbacks. But they couldn't carry Wilson's helmet. Let's go ahead and reserve a place in Wisconsin lore for Wilson alongside icons such as Ameche, Dayne, brats and Leinenkugel.

"Russell Wilson is a good football player," Pelini said. "He hurt us with feet and his arm; he did a good job."
Wilson also cemented his status in a crowded Heisman derby. He was 14-of-20 for 255 yards, with two touchdowns and no picks. Badgers fans from Kenosha to Rhinelander should hit their knees and say an extra prayer that Russell opted to transfer to Wisconsin instead of Auburn after leaving North Carolina State.
"I had a friend tell me, the more real you get, the more unreal it will get," Bielema said. "And I think we are at that point now."


Tom Dienhart is a national senior writer for Rivals.com. He can be reached at dienhart@yahoo-inc.com, and you can click here to follow him on Twitter.

Wilson’s flair complements Badgers’ brute force

By ERIC OLSON, AP Sports Writer 12 hours, 38 minutes ago


Wisconsin isn’t just the best team in the Big Ten. The Badgers are the most fun to watch, too, judging by their 31-point victory over Nebraska. “We’re sexy,” coach Bret Bielema said.

The 2011 Badgers aren’t the typical bruising Wisconsin team that just runs over opponents. Quarterback Russell Wilson brings a dynamic that complements what Wisconsin has always done best. “I still believe that we’re Wisconsin and what we are,” Bielema said. “We’re just extremely good right now.”

AdChoices

The nation saw it Saturday night in Wisconsin’s 48-17 win.

Montee Ball, running behind his behemoth offensive line, pushed a surprisingly soft Nebraska defense onto its heels with his tough running and finished with 151 yards on 30 carries in a show of old-school Wisconsin football.

Enter Wilson to the mix, and the Badgers can dream of playing for the national title, not just the Rose Bowl. He sidestepped rushers and threw on the run while completing 14 of 20 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns, and he scrambled for 32 yards and another score.

While Wilson was having his way with the Huskers, his counterpart, Taylor Martinez, melted down after a solid first quarter. His three interceptions in a span of 12 plays—all converted into touchdowns—was the difference in the game.
The win moved the Badgers (5-0, 1-0) up three spots to No. 4 in The Associated Press Top 25. The Huskers (4-1, 0-1) dropped six rungs to No. 14 and are now left to piece up the pieces after another loss on the national stage. They’ve lost 16 of 18 against opponents ranked in the top 10.

“There have been several tough losses. This is one of the top ones,” Martinez said.

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini indicated changes are coming.

“I don’t want to name names. We’ve got to coach them better. We’ve got to play better,” he said. “We’ll keep working to find the right combination because, right now, we don’t have the right combination.”

Wisconsin opened the season with four wins by an average of 40 points. Nebraska, playing its first Big Ten game, was supposed to be the Badgers’ first true test.

The nationally televised game was the first at Camp Randall Stadium since 1962 between teams ranked in the top 10.
Bielema said, “I threw out to our guys on Friday night, I said, `You know this week I’ve heard about a big game, big stage all these big things.’ I said, `All we have is a big opportunity. And what are we going to do with it?’

“And they answered the bell.” The Badgers had 486 total yards, 231 on the ground. Ball’s 151 yards were a season high, and his 30 carries a career high. “I felt like these past games I had, they weren’t good enough, so I had to make a statement,” Ball said. “I really feel like I haven’t showed what I am capable of doing. And I’m really glad I showed it today against a great opponent.”

Offensive lineman Travis Frederick said Wilson’s scrambling and passing ability allows the Badgers to be balanced.
“It’s been really good for us, because obviously the running game hasn’t been quite where we want it to be,” Frederick said. “But teams have really been screwing down trying to get us to not be able to run the ball. So for us to be able to throw the ball, open them up a little bit, it really opens up the running game.”

Wisconsin turned a 14-13 deficit into a 27-14 halftime lead after Martinez threw interceptions on consecutive possessions. He threw another on the first play of the second half, and Wisconsin converted a fourth-and-1 before Wilson ran for a 10-yard touchdown to put the Badgers up by 20 points.

“Everybody was down. We were being beat bad at halftime,” Nebraska cornerback Alfonzo Dennard said. “Once you figure out you’re going to get beat, some people don’t fight back.” That lack of fight chafed Pelini, who said he seen troubling signs in his defense in practices and in previous games. The Huskers were able to overcome lapses against lesser opponents but not against Wisconsin.

“We need some guys to step up and man up and start playing football,” Pelini said. “A lot of those things that happened out there today weren’t any different. We need to get it fixed. We haven’t fixed this. We’ve got to get it fixed.”
Wisconsin, already established as the team to beat in the Leaders Division, plays Indiana at home Saturday, and No. 19 Illinois is the only remaining opponent that’s ranked this week.

“We’ve got depth—that’s the biggest thing, in my opinion,” Bielema said. “We’re a good football team, we’re young and I think things are just starting to roll really well.”

Nebraska faces Ohio State (3-2, 0-1) in Lincoln in a game that matches teams desperate for a first Big Ten win. The Huskers, favored to win the Legends Division, already are a game behind Michigan and Michigan State.

“How we came out and played, that’s not Nebraska football,” Dennard said. “We need to have more people step up and be a leader. More people need to compete and not take plays off.”

Wisconsin had a very good team last yeat but lost a close game to TCU at the Rose Bowl. This year with the addition of Wilson at QB and a RB tandem of Montee Ball and James White they actually have BCS Championship potential. Man has this program come a long way in the past twenty years.

There may be added Oline prospects for us to look at again this year but one guy who intrigues me and should also intrigue the Bears is WR Nick Toon. He's a bigger guy (6'2" 220bs) with decent speed (4.5) and great hands. His Dad, Al Toon, played for the Badgers back in the early 80's and then in the NFL as a 1st round (10th) pick of the Jets where he played from 1985-92 and earned pro-bowl honors three times. Toon is rated as the 4th best WR overall and 2nd best Sr. in the 2012 draft. He's projected to go anywhere from the mid first round to the early second.

We pulled a great OT out of Wisconsin last year and we need to develop a big body WR so maybe Toon is a guy to look at. I think there will be a lot of teams scoping out Badgers come next spring.