B1G Championship Predictions
Who: University of Nebraska-Lincoln & University of Wisconsin-Madison
What: Big Ten Conference Championship
When: 7:17 pm – Central Time Zone on December 1st
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana
Who wins and why:
Much like the Pac-12 championship we are treated to a rematch when the huskers take on the badgers. The first go around for these two squads ended in a thrilling Nebraska comeback win a 30-27 husker victory in Lincoln on September 29. Both teams now have quite a bit more experience and a few more injuries compared to their conference opener show down. The cornhuskers will have to replace two vital starters on the offensive and defensive lines after the injury bug hit center Justin Jackson and defensive tackle Baker Steinkuhler in last Friday’s match-up with the Iowa hawkeyes.
Wisconsin has made vast strides through the weeks on the offensive line that should challenge the husker odd-man front package used to contain runningback Montee Ball from finding an open gap for a running lane. Expect Nebraska safety Daimion Stafford to play up in the box and force the 3rd-string Wisconsin quarterback Curt Phillips to throw deep on the blackshirt secondary. The match-up between the Wisconsin offensive line and husker defensive line will be the deciding factor in what team punches their ticket to Pasadena.
Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez and the husker offense will do damage no matter what but can the Nebraska offense and special teams units limit their turnovers? If the huskers go positive in the turnover margin expect linebacker Chris Borland and the rest of the badger defense to slowly wear down in response to Nebraska’s no-huddle power running game attack. A point of note is that the badgers often never leave the base 4-3 formation and keep the same personnel in the entire game. The huskers feature too many offensive weapons and will break big plays especially when they ride the momentum wave. With Rex Burkhead returning to the line-up I predict a 34 to 20 Nebraska victory and trip for a rematch of the 1941 Rose Bowl.
