Nebraska vs. Wisconsin: Score and Twitter Reaction

Wisconsin has knocked Nebraska from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 23-17 overtime win Saturday night. 

After the Badgers scored on their first possession of the overtime period, they stopped the Cornhuskers on 4th-and-8 to seal the victory. 

The teams traded touchdowns early in the first half, then Wisconsin went to work by scoring the next 10 points to open up a 17-7 lead that held into the fourth quarter. 

Nebraska head coach Mike Riley couldn't figure out the Badgers defense most of the night. Quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr., who was struggling with four interceptions over his previous three games, was horrendous. He went 12-of-31 with 153 yards and two interceptions. 

Erin Sorensen of Hail Varsity had a joke at Armstrong's expense:

With the passing game providing no help for either side, the running games went to work. 

Wisconsin opened the scoring with a two-play, 51-yard drive on its second possession that ended with Bradrick Shaw's 21-yard romp through the heart of Nebraska's defense. Corey Clement's 24-yard punt return gave the Badgers the ball at midfield and set up the drive. 

Shaw, a freshman, hasn't had many chances so far this season, but he's making the most of what touches he gets. He entered Saturday averaging 5.8 yards per carry, with Lorin Cox of Pro Football Focus praising the running back:

Nebraska's offense was sluggish for most of the first 15 minutes before Armstrong hit Jordan Westerkamp for 36 yards on the final play of the opening quarter to set up a 1st-and-goal situation. 

Prior to that completion, Armstrong had gone 2-of-8 for 13 yards and one interception. Devine Ozigbo finished the drive for the Cornhuskers with a one-yard touchdown run to help tie things at 7-7. 

Wisconsin reclaimed the lead with a field goal after Armstrong had a pass tipped and intercepted with just over 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter. 

Both teams used big plays to set up their first touchdowns, but throughout the first half, this was a defensive battle. Wisconsin replaced quarterback Alex Hornibrook with senior Bart Houston in the second quarter to ignite a spark. 

Houston had more passing yards (43) on just six attempts than Hornibrook (42) had through 10 attempts.

Per ESPN's Jesse Temple, Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst noted his approach with his quarterbacks before the game:

Hornibrook returned to start the third quarter for Wisconsin, tossing a touchdown pass to Robert Wheelwright to finish off the Badgers' 13-play drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock. 

Facing a 10-point deficit, even with roughly 23 minutes of game time remaining, Nebraska was left with a tall task. The Cornhuskers' first-half drives, not including the touchdown, ended with four punts and two interceptions. 

Making matters worse, Wisconsin had only allowed more than 17 points in a game once this season, when Ohio State put up 30. 

Sean Callahan of Rivals noted the Cornhuskers were rapidly approaching dangerous territory in trying to attack Wisconsin's relentless defense:

Nebraska cut the deficit to three points early in the fourth quarter, after Armstrong ran for a touchdown from two yards out and Drew Brown converted the extra point. It was the Cornhuskers' best drive of the game, taking 14 plays and 75 yards in just under six minutes. 

Wisconsin gave Nebraska chances to tie the game, with Hornibrook and Houston throwing interceptions on back-to-back drives. The Cornhuskers went three-and-out after the first turnover but got a field goal to tie it with less than four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Badgers again hurt themselves after driving down to Nebraska's 26 with less than two minutes remaining. Andrew Endicott missed a 45-yard field goal that would have put Wisconsin back on top. 

Nebraska took possession with 1:43 left, but the drive stalled after five plays, and Riley punted the ball away to ensure Wisconsin would take a knee to send the game into overtime.

Wisconsin took the ball to start overtime. Dare Ogunbowale found the end zone from 11 yards out, but the Badgers again had a special teams blunder when Endicott missed the extra point to keep the score at 23-17. 

Bonnie Bernstein of Campus Insiders tweeted out the reaction of every fan in Madison upon seeing Endicott miss another opportunity:

"

When you score a TD in overtime, but miss the extra point... #NEBvsWIS #Badgers pic.twitter.com/bhp2FnikoS

— Bonnie Bernstein (@BonnieBernstein) October 30, 2016"

Fortunately, those miscues did not come back to bite the Badgers, as the defense allowed just two yards on Nebraska's four plays. 

Even though the loss is not what Nebraska was counting on, this is not a crippling blow for the team. The Cornhuskers still control their destiny in the Big Ten West, though a road game against Ohio State next week looms even larger now. 

Wisconsin will likely be rooting for the Buckeyes in that contest, as the Badgers are one game behind Nebraska in the division but own the tiebreaker. They also have no more ranked opponents on the schedule. 

Post-Game Reaction

Chryst opted to go with Houston in overtime, a decision he didn't seem to signal meant anything significant moving forward. 

Per Evan Flood of 247Sports, Chryst said he felt Houston "gave us the best chance." He added that he easily could have gone with Hornibrook in that spot. 

While Chryst remains non-committal about his quarterback situation, he had nothing but praise for Ogunbowale. 

"He came up big," Chryst said, per Flood. "He ran hard. He was a big part of getting us going."

As for how the Badgers were able to succeed in overtime, cornerback Sojourn Shelton pointed to their game against Ohio State as a learning experience. 

"We were in the same predicament two weeks ago, we know how to finish it out," Shelton said, per ESPN.com. 

On the Nebraska side, Riley was disappointed with the outcome but happy with the effort from his team. 

"Everything I thought about this team is confirmed," Riley said, per Samuel McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald. "They continue to fight."

Armstrong highlighted Nebraska's missed opportunities after those two late interceptions from the defense. 

"(We) need to put points on the board after plays like the (Nathan) Gerry interception if they want to beat teams like Wisconsin," Armstrong said, per Hail Varsity. 

The Cornhuskers quarterback also made sure to point out his team "didn't have anything to prove" in this marquee showdown before acknowledging Wisconsin was the better team, per Benjamin Worgull of Scout.com.