College Football: Nebraska’s Baptism of Fire at Wisconsin (VIDEO)

Hey Huskers, welcome to the Big Ten. This might hurt just…a lot. Al Dannity breaks down another win-or-forget-the-BCS-title game as Camp Randall plays host to the battle between Wisconsin and Nebraska.

Heisman moments
At the end of the 2010 season, it didn’t look all that certain that Russell Wilson or Taylor Martinez would be where they are today. Martinez was in the midst of a nasty dispute with Bo Pelini, one which appears to have been wholly resolved but briefly threatened his status as starter. The athletic gifts of Martinez certainly aided the easing of the dispute, gifts Big 12 defenses became all too familiar with last season. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21mYRtUmc8k[/youtube]
It’s those legs that could propel him into the Heisman conversation with a big game on Saturday.

While Martinez ending up back under center for the Huskers was somewhat expected, Wilson’s arrival in Madison was an absolute shock. The marriage was almost too perfect to imagine. Wilson parted ways with NC State but remained eligible to play this year and Wisconsin had only one major need, namely at quarterback. The results so far have been astounding.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0eKcNLgROs[/youtube]

A tale of two offenses
These two teams love to run the football but College Football betting fans should expect to see very different approaches from both teams. Martinez shows his true skills when in the open field but can struggle when options are limited, as Wyoming demonstrated by holding him to 37 yards on 12 carries. Not that the Huskers still didn’t succeed on the ground, Rex Burkhead led the way with a dominant 170 yards on 15 carries. The Martinez-Burkhead tandem is chiefly responsible for Nebraska owning the #8 rushing offense in the nation. They need it too as Martinez is averaging just 7.61 yards per passing attempt against a soft schedule, down from 8.32 yards in the 2010 season.

Balance is the key to Wisconsin’s success. The Badgers retain the power-run offense that brought them to the Rose Bowl last year, with Montee Ball and James White sharing the bulk of the load on the #13 ranked rushing offense. Wilson’s arrival [http://bleacherreport.com/articles/859981-cfb-wisconsin-badgers-qb-russell-wilson-talks-big-10-and-acc] and his success at repeatedly finding Nick Toon has provided a massive edge to the Badgers. Teams that overload against the run now face the risk of Wilson taking advantage of Toon, who is averaging 16.8 yards per reception.

The verdict
No matter what happens on Saturday night, the loser should still be the most talented outfit in their division. The issue then will be whether this early defeat could derail a potential second bite at the cherry in the Big Ten title game.

Bo Pelini is more likely to end up pondering a comeback trail on Sunday morning. The Huskers entered this season famed for their defense. We haven’t seen anything to back that up this year, Saturday’s showing in Laramie aside. One solid display against Wyoming does not instil confidence in a unit about to take on the Badgers. The sheer power of Wisconsin’s run game coupled with the Wilson-Toon passing tandem is too much to pass up. The Badgers are -10.0 favorites with Sports Interaction and deservedly so, I like Wisconsin to win big on Saturday night.