Nebraska @ Wisconsin preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 7, 2017 ) Wisconsin 38, Nebraska 17

No. 12 Wisconsin looks to continue its winning ways in Big Ten play when it hosts Nebraska in the battle for the Freedom Trophy on Saturday. The Badgers beat Iowa 28-17 on Sept. 22 to extend their conference winning streak in the regular season to 17 games and hope to set the pace in the quest for their third consecutive West Division title by beating the Cornhuskers for the fifth time in a row.

"It was a good bye week but we're certainly excited to get back and get playing," Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst told reporters. "We have a ton of respect for Nebraska and we need a great week of preparation." The honeymoon period for first-year coach Scott Frost appears to be over after Nebraska suffered a 42-28 setback at home to Purdue last week to fall to 0-4 for the first time since 1945. The Cornhuskers have surrendered an average of 503.5 yards over their last two games and hope to end a program-worst eight-game losing skid by knocking off the Badgers for the first time in six years. "Sometimes when you're building a new house you can't build it on a bad foundation or you won't have a house for very long," Frost told reporters. "We had some rot and some termites and we still do, but we have to get all of that cleaned out."

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network. LINE: Wisconsin -20.

ABOUT NEBRASKA (0-4, 0-2 Big Ten): Freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez threw for 323 yards and a pair of touchdowns to go along with another 91 on the ground against Purdue to register the first 300-yard passing game of his career. Frost made widespread changes atop the depth chart as Tanner Farmer, who started the first four games at guard, will replace Cole Conrad at center while walk-on Kade Warner overtook Mike Williams for one of the starting wide receiver positions. Linebacker Will Honas will miss the rest of the season after suffering a serious knee injury in the loss to Purdue and defensive tackle Mick Stoltenberg will be sidelined for the foreseeable future due to a nagging knee issue.

ABOUT WISCONSIN (3-1, 1-0): Alex Hornibrook completed 17-of-22 passes for 205 yards and a season-high three touchdowns to help the Badgers capture the Heartland Trophy for the third consecutive time. Jonathan Taylor grinded out 113 yards on 25 carries against the Hawkeyes to top the 100-yard mark for the fourth straight game and becoming the 15th player in school history to surpass 2,500 rushing yards for his career (2,605). Wisconsin will honor the 1993 squad, which won the first Rose Bowl in program history, during a halftime ceremony on Saturday.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Wisconsin has won six of seven meetings since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011.

2. Taylor leads the nation in rushing yards per game (157).

3. Nebraska LB Mohamed Barry has recorded at least 10 tackles in three of his first four games.

PREDICTION: Wisconsin 33, Nebraska 13