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The No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers (7-3 overall, 5-2 Big Ten) are celebrating Senior Day on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. The Freedom Trophy will also be on the line as the Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-7 overall, 1-6 Big Ten) will be in town for a Big Ten West showdown.
UW has now won six straight games after their 1-3 start to the season and are clicking on all cylinders. The Huskers have dropped four in a row and have also lost seven straight games to Wisconsin, including all six games when the Freedom Trophy has been up for grabs. This is an important game for both teams, outside of the rivalry implications, as the Badgers can potentially lock up the West Division (with some help) and Nebraska wants to build some momentum heading into next year.
@KirkHerbstreit thinks highly of the turnaround from Coach Paul Chryst and @BadgerFootball heading into the final weeks of the season pic.twitter.com/hbvvXktzle
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) November 17, 2021
Here is all of the info you need to get prepared for the game on Saturday. We will update this on Saturday morning with all of the fun facts your heart desires!
How to watch/listen
TV: ABC, 2:30 p.m. CT, Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Tom Luginbill
Streaming: ESPN app
Radio: Badger Sports Network (Varsity Network App), Satellite: Sirius/XM 83, Matt Lepay, Mike Lucas, Mark Tauscher, Patrick Herb
Stadium: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wis.
Weather: Madison, Wis. (partially cloud and warmer than you’d think)
DraftKings Sportsbook Line: Wisconsin -9
(Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.)
Fun facts (according to the media guides)
- Wisconsin has won seven straight meetings with Nebraska, including all six since the Freedom Trophy was introduced in 2014.
- Wisconsin is 8-1 vs. the Huskers since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011, including a 4-0 mark at Camp Randall Stadium.
- The Badgers also lead the overall series 10-4 with the first win coming all the way back in 1901.
- The Badgers are 19-4 (.826) in games played in the month of November under seventh-year head coach Paul Chryst.
NEXT pic.twitter.com/lFVndmtmCY
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 19, 2021
- The Badgers have won 24 of their last 27 games with a traveling trophy on the line vs. Iowa (Heartland Trophy), Minnesota (Paul Bunyan’s Axe) and Nebraska (Freedom Trophy). UW currently is in possession of all three trophies after defeating Iowa on Oct. 30
- Nebraska’s first Big Ten game was a matchup of the 7th-ranked Badgers and 8th-ranked Huskers at Camp Randall Stadium in 2011, in which Wisconsin scored 48-17 win. One of the best games that I have attended, btw.
- Wisconsin offensive line coach Joe Rudolph served as tight ends coach at Nebraska in 2007 before returning to his alma mater and serving in the same capacity with the Badgers from 2008-11.
- Former UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez — who retired in June after a combined 32 years as football head coach and A.D. — is a 1969 graduate of Nebraska and was a three-year letterwinner at linebacker from 1965-67 for Huskers coach Bob Devaney. Alvarez intercepted a pass in a 1966 game between the Huskers and Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium.
- The UW defense is in the midst of a dominant six-game stretch (all Wisconsin wins, natch) in which they have allowed just 7.3 points and 194.5 yards per contest while recording 17 takeaways.
- Wisconsin leads the nation in total defense (216.3 yards per game) and rushing defense (60.6 ypg), while ranking No. 2 in the FBS in passing defense (155.7 ypg) and scoring defense (14.6 points per game).
- Wisconsin’s defense has gone more than nine quarters without allowing a touchdown — since Iowa found the end zone at the 8:21 mark of the third quarter in the Badgers’ 24-7 win on Oct. 30. The UW defense has allowed just 12 TDs in 10 games this season
- Led by three picks by senior CB Caesar Williams, the Badgers have recorded 10 interceptions during the course of their six-game win streak, the most of any Power Five team during that stretch. In addition, UW has recorded 21 pass breakups over those six games.
- Wisconsin’s defense has limited opponents to an average of just 4.9 plays per drive this season, the best mark of any FBS team.
- The Badgers are averaging 7.4 tackles for loss per game and are the only Power Five program with three players who have logged doubledigit TFLs this season: ILB Leo Chenal 15.0, ILB Jack Sanborn 13.0, OLB Nick Herbig 11.0.
- ILB Leo Chenal ranks No. 3 nationally at 1.9 TFLs per game.
"It's incredible for me to even be mentioned in the same conversation as those guys... Being a RB at Wisconsin, it's a brotherhood."@MattLeinartQB talks with @BraelonAllen about carrying on the legacy of running back at @BadgerFootball pic.twitter.com/PAAsCa7zEr
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 19, 2021
- Freshman RB Braelon Allen has topped the 100-yard mark in six straight games and scored eight TDs during that span. He ranks No. 5 nationally among RBs with at least 100 attempts, averaging 7.1 yards per carry.
- Over the last two games, QB Graham Mertz has completed 74.4% of his passes for 228.0 yards per game, five touchdowns and two interceptions (a pass efficiency rating of 204.6).
- TE Jake Ferguson has caught a pass in 44 consecutive games, which also happens to be the exact amount of games he has played!
- Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez enters the game against Wisconsin needing 273 yards to become Nebraska’s all-time leader in total offense. Martinez has 10,418 yards in his career, trailing only Tommy Armstrong Jr. (10,690). Martinez averages 274.2 yards of total offense per game in his four-year career.
One last run through that tunnel for these seniors
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 19, 2021
Let's make it count #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/zDy3bzn9KZ
- Here are the seniors being honored on Saturday: DE Michael Balistreri, OL Tyler Beach, OL Logan Bruss, OLB Noah Burks, FB John Chenal, WR Danny Davis, WR Jack Dunn, TE Jake Ferguson, OLB Izayah Green-May, CB Deron Harrell, DE Matt Henningsen, CB Faion Hicks, S Tyler Mais, ILB Mike Maskalunas, S Scott Nelson, WR Kendric Pryor, ILB Jack Sanborn, OL Josh Seltzner, P Conor Schlichting, OL Blake Smithback, QB Danny Vanden Boom, S Collin Wilder, DE Bryson Williams, CB Caesar Williams