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FOOTBALL
Barfknecht: Gordon-led Badgers respond in a record way
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Column by Lee Barfknecht / World-Herald staff writer | Updated 12 hours ago
MADISON, Wis. — NCAA football rushing history doesn’t come along often these days.
In an era when the forward pass is considered God’s gift to the game, running backs too often are relegated to change-of-pace or even decoy duty. Only one true tailback in this century has won the Heisman Trophy.
On Saturday, Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon put himself in prime position to join Alabama’s Mark Ingram in 2009 on the winner’s list.
Gordon did more carrying a football in a single game during Saturday’s 59-24 drubbing of Nebraska than O.J. Simpson or Billy Sims or Earl Campbell or Archie Griffin or Mike Rozier or Bo Jackson or Barry Sanders or anybody from the rushing era.
“He’s the best of the best,” Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen said.
Look at those names again and understand what Gordon’s 408 yards on 25 carries — in only three quarters — means.
The junior from Kenosha, Wisconsin, wiped away the rushing mark of 406 yards set 15 years ago by TCU’s LaDainian Tomlinson. More importantly, note who Tomlinson’s record came against.
It was perennial pushover UTEP. In fact, most of the NCAA’s top 10 rushing efforts have come against piddling programs — now-defunct Pacific, Eastern Michigan twice, Akron and Missouri twice in the 1990s when the Tigers were toothless.
Gordon did it against Nebraska.
Yes, Nebraska, which entered the game 25th nationally in total defense and is a school so proud of its defensive heritage that it has a nationally known nickname of Blackshirts.
After Saturday’s utter mess, somebody needs to collect those sacred black practice jerseys and lock them up for as long as so-called defensive guru Bo Pelini is the head coach.
If you think that’s a minority opinion, round up the tweets of some former Huskers as the yardage meter spun faster and faster.
The only people who knew Gordon would get the ball a lot Saturday were the 80,539 people in Camp Randall Stadium and millions more watching on television.
Yet the 6-foot-1, 213-pounder still broke off single-play gains of 42, 62, 16, 39, 44, 43, 68 and 26 yards before jollying on the sideline for the entire fourth quarter.
That’s a sign of Gordon’s greatness, and a clanging alarm for anybody who thinks Nebraska football is either improving or nationally relevant (I’m talking to you, Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst).
The Blackshirts’ lone consolation prize was they almost made Gordon cry.
Early in the second quarter, with Nebraska leading 17-10, the Huskers forced and recovered a second fumble from Gordon. On the sideline, teammates and coaches tried to console him.
“I was just out of it,” he said. “We had the momentum. We were driving down the field. Losing the ball can really turn the game around. It was kind of depressing.”
The message was the Badgers still looked to Gordon to make game-changing plays despite the early adversity.
Ah, yes. Adversity.
“We’re coached to be ready for it,” Gordon said. That’s called “a money quote.”
How did Wisconsin respond after his second fumble?
The Badgers took the ball away from Nebraska I-back Terrell Newby four plays later, then scored again in two plays — a 39-yard burst from Gordon and 17-yard run from backup Corey Clement.
How did Nebraska respond to that tying touchdown? By turtling.
The Husker offense, on its next seven possessions, gained the following number of first downs: 0, 2, 1, 0, 0, 1 and 0. Wisconsin in that span went touchdown, punt, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown and touchdown.
Here comes another “money quote.”
“This team was ready for the moment,” UW’s Andersen said.
This nationally staged contest essentially was for a trip to the Big Ten championship game as the West Division representative and a chance to boost Heisman Trophy bids for Gordon and Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah.
“This game meant a lot, forget about the statistics,” Gordon said. “If we lost this game, we knew it would be tough for us to get a Big Ten championship.”
Nebraska, with two weeks to prepare and the alleged desire to finally win a meaningful road game, pulled its all-hat-no-cattle routine. The Huskers are all but certain to add another year to their conference championship drought that goes back through 2000.
I asked Andersen how his 24th-ranked offense could drill holes worth 627 yards into a top 25 defense like Nebraska’s. He praised his offensive coaches for configuring a highly refined game plan in five days.
“We had very good schemes that were difficult to handle,” Andersen said. “I don’t spend a lot of time with the offensive coaches, but I do get a look at practice every single day.
“There are a lot of moving parts. And there is a lot of physicality. When those kids get a little momentum going, they pride themselves on being able to run the ball.”
Then came another “money quote.”
“This team,” Andersen said, “prepares very, very, very well, and they practice smart against each other.”
Especially Gordon, with the proof being his record 408 yards.
“Hearing that number,” UW offensive tackle Rob Havenstein said, “you’re thinking you would be tired if that was a regular conditioning drill, let alone a football game against Nebraska, a top defense. Melvin is that special a guy.”
What is special about Nebraska remains much more difficult to see.