Madison After four consecutive bowl losses, including three in the Rose Bowl, a disappointing finish to Gary Andersen's first season as Wisconsin's coach and an ugly meltdown in the 2014 opener against LSU, UW fans pined for a signature victory.
They wanted to see UW beat a quality foe anywhere. The location was irrelevant.
Just win, baby.
Redshirt junior Melvin Gordon signed his name to a stunning 59-24 victory over 11th-ranked Nebraska Saturday with a signature performance, a record-setting performance, a performance worthy of any Heisman Trophy winner.
With a crowd of 80,539 at Camp Randall Stadium roaring more loudly with each run, Gordon broke the UW rushing record of Ron Dayne (339), the Big Ten rushing record of Indiana's Anthony Thompson (377) and finally got the Football Bowl Subdivision mark of TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson (406).
Gordon finished with 408 yards on 25 carries, 16.3 yards per carry, and four touchdowns to help UW score 56 consecutive points and take over sole possession of first place in the Big Ten West Division.
"This game meant a lot," said Gordon, who pushed his season totals to 1,909 rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns. "Forget about the statistics. I knew if we lost this game, it would be tough for us to get in the Big Ten championship. It was pretty much the end of the road for us. These last few games are very important.
"To come out here and play the way we did, it's a great feeling. We just gotta keep it going."
Gordon broke Tomlinson's mark with a 26-yard touchdown run on the final play of the third quarter.
"I didn't even know I was close to a record like that," he said. "I was kind of just running to win. I saw them shifting over and it was a power play, which you usually don't take backside.
"I just kind of predetermined it. I kind of knew they would all sell out going to the left. So I pressed it a little bit, cut back and just made it happen."
Gordon to Gotham for the Heisman Trophy ceremony? Why not?
"I thought this guy...the best of the best," Andersen said as he looked over to Gordon. "Unbelievable. And I know the first thing he's going to tell you is about his teammates. So I'm going to tell you how special a young man he is. I've said it all year long, ever since I got a chance to meet him, almost two years ago now, I knew it....
"He's absolutely unbelievable. Like I say, I think the best of the best."
UW to Indianapolis for the Big Ten title game? Why not?
The Badgers (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten) took over sole possession of first place in the division by embarrassing Nebraska (8-2, 4-2) for the third time in four meetings since the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten in 2011.
UW plays next at Iowa (7-3, 4-2) and then closes the regular season Nov. 29 against visiting Minnesota (7-3, 4-2).
The Gophers fell out of the West lead by dropping a 31-24 decision to East Division leader Ohio State (9-1, 6-0) earlier Saturday in Minneapolis.
Nebraska hosts Minnesota next and then closes Nov. 28 at Iowa.
"I think we proved that this team is for real," senior linebacker Marcus Trotter said after recording a game-high 12 tackles, "and that we are going to work hard through postseason to keep proving it."
Although Gordon was the headliner, give credit to UW's offensive line, which overcame a slow start, and a defense that swarmed all over Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers got 77 yards on their final 43 plays, over 13 possessions. UW forced five turnovers four fumbles and one interception.
Nebraska's final score a 2-yard run by reserve tailback Terrell Newby came with 2 minutes 54 seconds left and after a fumble by reserve quarterback Bart Houston.
UW limited tailback Ameer Abdullah to 69 yards on 18 carries, recorded four sacks and limited Nebraska to 62 passing yards.
"I was really proud of how we responded to sudden change," said senior linebacker Derek Landisch, who recorded 10 tackles. "They had good field position in the first quarter.
"But wherever the ball is started, we just like to play. I'm really proud of how the guys responded to sudden change and with all those unanswered points. We created turnovers. We were challenged by our coaches this week to create turnovers."
Gordon overcame two lost fumbles in the first half, the first of which led to a Nebraska touchdown and a 14-point deficit, to give viewers across the nation a Heisman-worthy performance.
He rushed 16 times for 238 yards (14.9-yard average) and a touchdown in the first two quarters. That helped UW overcome a 17-3 deficit and take a 24-17 halftime lead.
Gordon had runs of 42, 62, 39 and 44 yards in the half.
He was just warming up.
Gordon added runs of 43 and 68 yards in the third quarter and two touchdown runs to help UW build a 38-17 lead.
He scored on runs of 62, 1, 6 and 26 yards.
Gordon sat out the fourth quarter. So including the 2012 Big Ten title game, Gordon has rushed 34 times for 624 yards and five touchdowns in seven quarters against Nebraska.
"We started off well, doing a lot of good things in all three phases of the game," Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. "It flipped somewhere along the way. It's like our guys totally lost their confidence.
"Our tackling was atrocious. We had some missed assignments. Obviously we got beat and I give them credit....
"We didn't give off blocks and guys that were free didn't make tackles. We didn't react to a couple things. We made a couple adjustments. We didn't follow through with it."
Led by Gordon, the Badgers followed through, all the way to the top of the Big Ten West.
"Unbelievable game," Andersen said. "This football team was hit right in the face with some major adversity at the beginning of the game. And they just kept on battling. I'm so proud of the kids overall. Proud of this team....
"The defense, after getting some bad field position, they fought the turnovers...kept on battling through that, which was great to see, and then just basically shut them down after that. And this team keeps growing and developing and they made some nice plays today."
***408 yardsSingle-game rushing records Gordon broke:
UW: Ron Dayne, 339 yards (1996)
Big Ten: Indiana's Anthony Thompson 377 (1989)
Football Bowl Subdivision: TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson, 406 yards (1999)
Now Badgers hold three major FBS rushing marks:
Yards in a game: Melvin Gordon, 408 (2014)
Yards in career: Ron Dayne, 6,397 (1996-'99)
Career touchdowns: Montee Ball, 77 (2009-'12)
FBS SINGLE-GAME RUSHING RECORDS
Player Team Date Outcome Yards Melvin Gordon Wisconsin Oct. 15, 2014 Nebraska, 59-24 (W) 408 LaDainian Tomlinson TCU Oct. 20, 1999 UTEP, 52-24 (W) 406 Tony Sands Kansas Nov. 23, 1991 Missouri, 53-29 (W) 396 Marshall Faulk San Diego State Nov. 14, 1991 Pacific, 55-34 (W) 386 Troy Davis Iowa State Sept. 28, 1996 Missouri, 45-31 (W) 378 Anthony Thompson Indiana Nov. 11, 1989 Wisconsin, 45-17 (W) 377 Robbie Mixon Central Michigan Nov. 2, 2002 E. Michigan, 47-21 (W) 377 Travis Prentice Miami (Ohio) Nov. 6, 1999 Akron, 32-23 (W) 376 Astron Whatley Kent State Sept. 20, 1997 E. Michigan, 41-38 (W) 373 Ka'Deem Carey Arizona Nov. 10, 2012 Colorado, 56-31 (W) 366 Rueben Mayes Washington State Oct. 27, 1984 Oregon, 50-41 (W) 357Source: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/badgers/melvin-gordon-breaks-fbs-single-game-rushing-record-with-408-yards-b99390768z1-282830461.html
