Badgers Recall: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin, 2014

4-0-8.

I have been extremely fortunate to write about and cover a college football program since July 2013. I truly sunk my teeth into the Badgers beat during Paul Chryst's first season in 2015, and then I added the basketball beat to my resume for the 2017-18 season.

With organized team activities on hold for Big Ten Conference programs until May 4 at the very earliest, AllBadgers.com currently cannot write about spring football happenings.

Therefore, the site asks this question to the fans: What is the most memorable Wisconsin game you have been to in-person? In the comments fields below, give me yours.

For now, I will discuss some from the Wisconsin football and basketball games I have covered. I looked back on UW's upset win at Lambeau Field in 2016 earlier this week. 

On Friday, I reminisce about a winter wonderland that encompassed Camp Randall Stadium in a November 2014 divisional clash where a Badger back made college football history (for a week).

Nebraska vs. Wisconsin: Nov. 15, 2014

For all the accolades Melvin Gordon received after this record-breaking, 408-yard, four-touchdown performance in the 59-24 victory, all did not start off well for Wisconsin in a key Big Ten West division contest against Bo Pelini and Nebraska. 

Less than a minute into the second quarter, the Huskers had already taken advantage of two lost fumbles by the Badgers that lead to 10 points and a 17-3 lead. 

Oddly enough, they would not score again until 2:54 remaining ... in the fourth quarter. Honestly, this game very well may be the biggest turnaround into a subsequent domination that I have covered.

After Nebraska went up by 14, Gordon and UW responded immediately with a touchdown drive that ended with the back sprinting 62 yards to pay dirt to eventually cut the lead in half. That started a streak of 56 unanswered points by Gary Andersen's program.

However, Gordon would cough up the ball again on the Badgers' next offensive series. Thankfully, Dave Aranda's defense forced a turnover of its own with a Terrell Newby fumble that was recovered by Joe Schobert. 

A Gordon 39-yard run set up a Corey Clement 17-yard dash to the end zone, and the game was all tied up. Wisconsin eventually took the lead before halftime on a Joel Stave five-yard touchdown to tight end Sam Arneson (UW only threw 11 times on the day).

During the second half, Wisconsin outscored Nebraska by a 35-7 margin. That included three touchdown runs by Gordon. 

Taking a step back to broadly looking at his performance, the number of "chunk plays" the Kenosha, Wis., native accumulated in that game is still astounding: 42, 62, 16, 39, 44, 43, 68, 26.

More than midway through the third quarter, he broke the single-game school rushing mark. Then with time winding down in that frame, he took what was supposed to be a power left to the backside and proceeded to go 26 yards for his fourth score of the day. That run eclipsed the FBS single-game rushing record by former TCU running back LaDainian Tomlinson.

What would have happened if he played another drive? Another full quarter?

In all, Wisconsin outgained Nebraska 627 to 180 yards, and the Badgers forced five turnovers on the day. 

I dug up UW's game notes from Gordon's performance. They are simply otherworldly:

**Junior RB Melvin Gordon set a school, Big Ten and FBS record with 408 rushing yards on 25 carries (16.3 ypc.). The NCAA single-game record was 406 rushing yards by LaDainian Tomlinson (TCU) vs. UTEP, Nov. 20, 1999. The Big Ten record was 377 set by Indiana’s Anthony Thompson at Wisconsin on Nov. 11, 1989.
**Gordon now has 1,909 rushing yards on the season, fourth-best in school history. He is averaging 190.9 yards per game this season and 8.56 yards per carry.
**It was Gordon’s fourth 200-yard rushing game this season and fifth of his career. Ron Dayne, who had five 200-yard rushing games in both 1996 and 1999, is the only other Badger to run for at least 200 yards in a game four times in one season.
**Gordon rushed for at least 100 yards for the eighth straight game and the ninth time in 10 games this season. His 19 career 100-yard games ties him with Brent Moss for the fifth-most in UW history.
**Gordon's 189 rushing yards in the second quarter broke the Wisconsin record for rushing yards in a quarter of 170 set by Ron Dayne vs. San Jose State on Sept. 13, 1997. Gordon also had 170 yards in the third quarter. 
**Gordon had a 42-yard run in the first quarter, a 62-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, a 44-yard run in the second quarter and a 43-yard run in the third quarter. He now had 14 runs this season of at least 40 yards and 24 in his career. **Gordon has four runs this season of at least 60 yards and 11 in his career. Wisconsin leads the country with 20 runs of 40+ yards this season.
**Gordon has scored at least two touchdowns in seven of the last eight games and with his four TDs today, now has 25 on the season. That is the second-best single-season total in school history, trailing only Montee Ball (39 in 2011).

I checked back on what I wrote about that day when I was a part of Bucky's 5th Quarter, and that included asking myself how I would describe this to my young kids -- the snow falling as Gordon gracefully ran through the Nebraska defense and the Badger faithful's energy electrified Camp Randall Stadium.

Now being able to watch arguably the most complete back to come out of Wisconsin in Jonathan Taylor for the past three seasons, it still ranks up as the greatest single-game offensive performance by a player that I have covered live.