LINCOLN, Neb. — No. 9 Wisconsin wore down Nebraska to claim a 38-17 win Saturday night thanks to freshman Jonathan Taylor's season-high 249 yards rushing and two touchdowns. The Badgers' second-half rally utilized a grinding run game to hand the Huskers their first Big Ten loss of the season and to claim the rivalry's Freedom Trophy.
The Badgers (5-0, 2-0) beat the Huskers (3-3, 2-1) for the fifth straight time and took sole possession of first place in the Big Ten West.
The Badgers also snapped Nebraska's 20-game win streak in home night games, a record reaching back to 2008. Wisconsin has now beaten Nebraska six out of seven times since the Huskers joined the league in 2011.
Taylor, who had his second 200-yard performance in five games, carried 25 times while recording the third-most rushing yards ever by a Nebraska opponent.
The Badgers went to the run almost exclusively on three straight scoring drives after Nebraska's Aaron Williams returned an interception to tie it 17-all early in the third quarter.
They ran on eight of 10 plays while going 93 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, which Quintez Cephus scored on a 5-yard pass. Next time they ran on all 10 plays as they went 80 yards, with Taylor bulling in from the 2. After Stanley Morgan fumbled on the Huskers' ensuing possession, they ran 10 times for 40 yards, with Bradrick Shawn scoring from the 1.
Wisconsin quieted the raucous home crowd only seconds after the game's starting kickoff as Chris Orr snagged a ball that glanced off intended receiver Ozigbo and returned it 78 yards for the Badgers' own pick-six. It was the fourth pick-six thrown by Tanner Lee this season and his 10th interception.
The Huskers challenged the nation's No. 4 defense for more than 300 yards in the first half, but didn't score until just before halftime. Lee and Stanley Morgan Jr. hooked up for an 80-yard catch-and-run.
The Badgers were back up 17-7 after the first play of their next series, with Taylor going 75 yards untouched for Wisconsin's longest play from scrimmage since 2014.
Looking ahead, Wisconsin returns home to host Purdue and will look for its 12th straight win against the Boilermakers in the series.
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The AP contributed to this article.
