Heartbreak in Madison for Nebraska football.
The Huskers lost to Wisconsin 24-17 in overtime Saturday night. NU is now 5-6 with one game left to become bowl eligible.
Nebraska jumped out on fire, scoring on the first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead. Those touchdowns came via a 55 yards Chubba Purdy run and a 58 yard Purdy to Jaylen Lloyd pass.
On the third possession, at the Wisconsin 33 yard line, the fourth down attempt fell short. Wisconsin turned that momentum into a 66 yard touchdown drive. The Badgers scored on three of four drives to run off 17 straight points.
Nebraska, meanwhile, managed 81 yards across their next six possessions. Five of those ended with punts and one ended with a missed field goal.
But on the final possession of regulation, Purdy led the offense 68 yards over 3:33 as Tristan Alvano made a field goal with four seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, Wisconsin had the ball first. The Badgers picked up a pair of first downs before punching in a rushing touchdown.
Needing a touchdown to stay in the game, Nebraska went backwards immediately. On the first down play, the option was snuffed out and went for negative yards. A quick pass on second down was batted at the line. Before the third down play could happen, a false start was called.
On third and 16, Purdy overthrew Malachai Coleman. On fourth down, Purdy missed Jaylen Lloyd and the ball was intercepted. That was the only turnover of the game by either team.
Nebraska has not won in overtime since 2014.
The Huskers finished with 364 yards of offense to Wisconsin's 316. The Badgers managed 156 yards on the ground, a number that only trails Michigan for what was accomplished against Nebraska.
In his first start of the season, Purdy notched 169 yards and a touchdown on 15-of-23 passing, getting intercepted once. He also scooted for 105 yards and a touchdown on the ground
Emmett Johnson and Anthony Grant combined for 95 yards on 25 carries.
Special teams were again an issue. Alvano made 1-of-2 field goal attempts. On the punting side, Brian Buschini punted the ball five times, putting just one inside the 20. Buschini averaged 35.2 yards a punt, including a 48 yarder and one that netted just 18 yards.
Nebraska will have hope to beat Big Ten West champion Iowa for bowl eligibility. The Huskers and Hawkeyes meet at 11 a.m. on Black Friday.
- More coverage & commentary: HuskerMax game page
Nebraska Postgame Notes
- Wisconsin’s win was its 10th straight in the series and improved the Badgers to 13-4 all-time against Nebraska, including 7-1 in Madison.
- NU, which lost its seventh straight overtime game, fell to 8-8 all-time in overtime games The Huskers lost in overtime for the second time in their past four trips to Madison (also in 2016).
- Quarterback Chubba Purdy earned the start in tonight’s game, marking Nebraska’s third starting quarterback of the season, joining Heinrich Haarberg (8 starts) and Jeff Sims (2 starts). This is the first time Nebraska has used three starting quarterbacks in a season since 2013 (Tommy Armstrong Jr., Taylor Martinez and Ron Kellogg III).
- Purdy opened the scoring with a 55-yard touchdown run on the opening drive, giving Nebraska three TD runs of 50 yards or more by quarterbacks this season, one by each of the three starters.
- Purdy accounted for a Nebraska season-high 274 yards of total offense (previous high was Heinrich Haarberg with 264 total yards vs. Louisiana Tech). Purdy completed 15-of-23 passes for 169 yards and one touchdown and had 14 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown. He posted his first career 100-yard rushing game.
- Nebraska scored 14 points in the first quarter tonight, after entering the game with 13 first-quarter points this season.
- Nebraska held Wisconsin scoreless in the first quarter, marking the seventh time in 11 games Nebraska has shut out its opponent in the first quarter in 2023. Nebraska has not allowed a first-quarter touchdown in six consecutive games and has allowed just 23 first-quarter points this season.
- Freshman receiver Jaylen Lloyd caught a 58-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, marking his second touchdown of the season. Both of his TDs have covered more than 50 yards, with his first TD a 73-yard touchdown against Purdue.
- Bryce Benhart made his 40th career start in tonight’s game, all at right tackle. Benhart is the third offensive lineman in school history to make 40 career starts, joining Jeremiah Sirles (41) and Brenden Jaimes (40).
- Senior receiver Billy Kemp IV caught eight passes for 43 yards, setting a season high in receptions, bettering his five catches against both Colorado and Louisiana Tech.
- Senior running back Anthony Grant rushed 12 times for 45 yards in the game. His 45 rushing yards gave Grant 1,324 rushing yards at Nebraska, moving him into the top 50 on the Husker career rushing list.
- Nebraska recorded two sacks in the game, giving the Huskers 31 sacks on the season. This is the first time Nebraska has had 30 sacks in a season since 2013.
- Safety Marques Buford Jr. finished with a career-high 10 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. The TFL total ties his career high, set last week against Maryland.
- Nebraska scored in its 350th consecutive game, dating back to 1996. This is just the seventh time in FBS history that a team has scored in 350 consecutive games.
- Wisconsin’s third-quarter touchdown run was the first against Nebraska since Michigan, ending a streak of five straight games without allowing a rushing touchdown.
- Tonight’s game captains were PK Timmy Bleekrode, C Ben Scott, DL Ty Robinson and LB Luke Reimer.
