Nebraska vs. Wisconsin: Game Grades, Analysis for Huskers and Badgers

Melvin Gordon may have run all the way to New York City on Saturday afternoon as he set the single-game FBS record with 408 yards rushing en route to the University of Wisconsin's 59-24 win over the University of Nebraska. The box score can be found here, courtesy of NCAA.com.

The Badgers actually trailed 17-3 early after several miscues. But Gordon took over, and Wisconsin never looked back as the snow started to fall at Camp Randall Stadium.

Here are the game grades for both the Badgers and Cornhuskers.

Wisconsin

Positional Unit	First Half Grade	Final Game Grade
Pass Offense	B-	C
Rush Offense	A+	A+
Pass Defense	A	A+
Rush Defense	B-	B+
Special Teams	A	A
Coaching	B	A+

Pass offense: Joel Stave was the only guy to attempt a pass for Wisconsin, and he was 7-of-11 for 46 yards and a touchdown. When Gordon is breaking NCAA records on the ground and you're up by half a dozen possessions, you don't necessarily need a good pass offense. Then again, Wisconsin is never known to air it out. 

Rush offense: Melvin Gordon! Melvin Gordon! My kingdom for Melvin Gordon! It's no secret that the Badgers aced this category. Not only did Gordon set the FBS single-game rushing record, but he also scored four touchdowns. As a team, the Badgers ran for 581 yards and seven touchdowns and had five rushers with 20 or more yards.

Pass defense: Even as Nebraska began to hoist the ball in desperation, the Badgers secondary never gave in. It walked away with an interception and held Tommy Armstrong to just 6-of-18 passing for 62 yards.

Rush defense: This game had been marketed as the battle between perhaps the nation's two best running backs in Gordon and Ameer Abdullah. While Gordon put on a show, Abdullah looked like a shell of himself. He was limited to 69 yards on 18 carries and also fumbled twice. As a team, Nebraska averaged just 2.6 yards on the ground.

Special teams: Not much to complain about and not much to get hyped about in the special teams department. There was the shanked punt early. But besides that, Wisconsin took care of business on special teams. There were no return miscues, nor were there any missed kicks.

Coaching: Gordon offset so many categories this week, and coaching was one of them. When you have a guy rush for 408 yards and you're leading 59-17 in the fourth quarter, there's only so much a coach can do. However, Gary Anderson made the smart move in removing Gordon after the third quarter, and he also made sure his team didn't fall apart after falling down 17-3 early.

Nebraska

Positional Unit	First Half Grade	Final Game Grade
Pass Offense	C+	D
Rush Offense	B	D-
Pass Defense	B+	B
Rush Defense	F	F
Special Teams	B+	B+
Coaching	C	D-

Pass offense: Armstrong looked horrendous on Saturday despite a decent start that included a first-quarter touchdown pass to Kenny Bell. It's a quarterback's job to lead a team, and Armstrong led the Huskers to a 17-3 lead, only to see everything hit the fan. He finished with just 62 yards passing, a touchdown and an interception.

Rush offense: The Huskers go as far as Abdullah carries them. On Saturday, that wasn't very far. The guy who was supposed to go toe-to-toe with Gordon instead rushed for just 69 yards on 18 carries. His longest carry of the day was just 13 yards. As a team, the Huskers averaged just 2.6 yards per carry.

Pass defense: Wisconsin didn't exactly air it out on Nebraska, but Stave still had an efficient game by some standards, as he had just four incomplete passes, a touchdown and no picks. But the Badgers finished with just 46 yards passing, so the secondary can take that silver lining home with it to Nebraska.

Rush defense: Gordon finished with 408 yards—a number no defense has ever allowed one person before. As a team, the Badgers racked up 581 yards and averaged 11 yards per carry. Enough said. The Huskers' rush defense was awful, just awful.

Special team: Like Wisconsin, Nebraska didn't have any special teams blunders to worry about. It made its extra points, had punts of good distances and didn't give up any returns.

Coaching: After Saturday's game, you wonder if Bo Pelini had ever heard of Gordon before the game. Wisconsin dared Nebraska to stop its best and, at times, only option, and it couldn't. That means Nebraska wasn't prepared, and that's on the coach.