Nebraska Football: 3 Things They Need to Do to Beat Wisconsin

Nebraska travels to Camp Randall Stadium for quite the test as they face Wisconsin in what will be their first Big Ten conference game ever. 

Wisconsin is a large 10-point favorite, but it's hard to say the No. 8 Nebraska is really that big of an underdog. If the Cornhuskers do intend on pulling the road upset, here's three big keys that will help them. 

Slow Down Russell Wilson

Wisconsin's offense has been nearly unstoppable this year, and that all starts with quarterback Russell Wilson. The senior transfer from NC State is putting up some gaudy numbers, including a 76 percent completion percentage, 1,136 yards and 11 touchdowns to just one interception.

Nebraska has shown that they can keep up in a shootout, but they'd much rather keep this one out of the 40's. They will have to be much better against the pass than they were against Washington two weeks ago.

Get the Run Game Going

This one will be a battle of strengths. Behind Taylor Martinez and Rex Burkhead, Nebraska is currently averaging 6.2 yards per carry. That's good for sixth best in the nation.

Over on the defensive side of the ball, Wisconsin has been pretty stingy against the run, giving up just 2.7 yards per carry. That's 17th best in the country. 

Nebraska doesn't necessarily want to rely on Martinez throwing the ball in this one so they will have to win the battle in the trenches and run the ball effectively.

Force Some Turnovers and Get Field Position

Wisconsin is allowing just eight points per game, which makes them the best scoring defense in the country right now. A big reason they've been able to do this is that they don't turn the ball over.

Just one turnover on the season to be exact.

If Nebraska is going to be able to score on this defense, they can't rely on getting 80-yard drives every time out. 

Ameer Abdullah, who has been one of the best kick returners in the nation, will have a big part in establishing field position, but the defense also needs to force some turnovers. 

The Cornhuskers currently force 1.7 turnovers per game, and they'll need to get somewhere right around two timely takeaways if they want to win this one.