Do good things happen in threes? Or is it bad things?
By beating Nebraska on Saturday in the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis, Wisconsin would go to its third straight Rose Bowl, something no Big Ten team has accomplished since Michigan in 1977-79.
The Badgers will be bolstered by the return of three players who either didn’t suit up Saturday at Penn State (linebacker Chris Borland) or got knocked out of the game (receiver Jared Abbrederis, guard Kyle Costigan).
And the Badgers are merely three-point underdogs, even though Wisconsin is 7-5 with two straight losses and Nebraska is 10-2 with five straight victories. That, of course, is a difference of three games.
“I don’t buy into wins and losses,” Nebraska tackle Jeremiah Sirles said. “I buy into what they put on tape, and what they put on tape is a dang-good defense. They’re a dang-good football team.”
The Huskers saw that first-hand Sept. 29 in Lincoln. They fell behind 27-10 in the third quarter on a Montee Ball touchdown run — one of his NCAA-record 79 — but then dominated. They scored on four straight possessions and forced four straight punts.
“If we start out fast,” Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez said of Saturday’s game, “we should be perfectly fine.”
And if they fall behind, that also might not be a problem. Martinez engineered comebacks against Wisconsin, Northwestern (down 28-16 fourth quarter), Michigan State (down 24-14 fourth quarter) and Penn State (down 20-6 at the half).
Wisconsin also has rallied in its last two games, scoring game-tying touchdowns with eight seconds left against Ohio State and 18 ticks remaining at Penn State, only to lose both in overtime.
“We’ve been on the short stick of some close, hard-fought games,” Badgers coach Bret Bielema said. “The optimist in me says, ‘Hey, we were in these games.’ … One play here or there, we could win. We didn’t.”
Those results, coupled with Ohio State and Penn State being ineligible, are why Wisconsin could become the first five-loss team in the history of the Rose Bowl.
“I appreciate the question and understand it totally,” Bielema said. “There are 10 teams in the Big Ten that would love to be in the position Nebraska and we are in. When the two teams take the field Saturday, neither is going to care how the other got there or what their record is.”
Homebodies: Lucas Oil Stadium (capacity 66,159) fell 2,000 shy of a sellout for last year’s inaugural title game, and Saturday’s game promises to have seas of empty seats.
Nebraska fans might be saving their money for a bowl trip, given that the school sold just 7,800 of its 15,000-ticket allotment. Some fans are undoubtedly scooping up cheaper seats on the secondary market, where they’re going for as little as $22. Wisconsin has sold about 5,500 from its allotment.
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