Five burning questions heading into Iowa week

Here are five of the biggest questions facing Nebraska as it heads into its season finale this week vs. Iowa...

With four new full-time assistants and two full weeks to prepare, Nebraska came out with a much more aggressive offensive game plan against one of the better defenses in the Big Ten in Wisconsin.

The result was a whopping 452 yards of total offense and four touchdowns. Quarterback Adrian Martinez threw for 351 of those yards on 35 passing attempts.

That marked the most yards the Badgers had given up all season by nearly 100 yards (Michigan had 365). Coming into Saturday, Wisconsin had allowed an average of just 216.3 yards per game, which the Huskers surpassed by halftime.

The strategy was much different from what head coach Scott Frost hinted at last week when he said NU would shorten the game and control the ball.

Nebraska has another stout challenge up next in Iowa’s defense and will have a day less to prepare for the Hawkeyes on a short week. Will Frost continue to be on the attack with his offensive play-calling? And could this be a preview of what he wants the offense to be with its next coordinator?

Nebraska’s running back room has been one big game of musical chairs all season, as snaps and carries have varied drastically from week to week.

Saturday was no different, as Rahmir Johnson, who had emerged as the clear No. 1 over the past several weeks, did not travel to Wisconsin because of a lingering injury.

Backup Sevion Morrison had already left the program, which left Markese Stepp, Marvin Scott III, and Jaquez Yant as the only scholarship backs on NU’s travel roster.

Stepp got the start, and he and Scott both got nine carries and scored a touchdown in the loss. However, walk-on Brody Belt ended up leading the team with 31 yards on seven carries, including the longest rush by a Husker back on the day at 11 yards.

Yant did not play a single offensive snap in the game.

Will Johnson be ready to return for Friday’s season finale? Or will Nebraska again have to rely on an all-hands-on-deck approach in the backfield?

All signs had pointed to Deontai Williams making his return to Nebraska’s defense against Wisconsin after being out with an injury he suffered against Minnesota.

But the sixth-year senior safety didn’t even suit up on Saturday, giving Myles Farmer another start and leaving the Blackshirts without one of their top veteran playmakers and leaders.

The Huskers would undoubtedly love to have Williams back on the field against Iowa. They need his physicality against the run, and Farmer has gone through some growing pains the past two games in his absence.

Farmer was credited with a team-high four missed tackles and posted the defense’s second-lowest overall defensive grade at just 39.3 vs. the Badgers, per PFF.

Frost said from the start that he expected Williams to return this season, and this will be the last chance for that to happen.

Nebraska will also be monitoring the health of a few other critical defensive pieces this week.

Top nose guard and team captain Damion Daniels played just 11 snaps at Wisconsin while dealing with a lingering undisclosed injury. Starting outside linebacker Caleb Tannor suffered an injury vs. the Badgers and played just 12 snaps.

On top of that, the Huskers were also without backup outside linebacker Pheldarius Payne on Saturday. He didn’t make the trip to Madison due to an undisclosed injury.

The Blackshirts were already without star outside linebacker JoJo Domann, who underwent season-ending hand surgery last week.

Young guys like Blaise Gunnerson and Nash Hutmacher got the most extensive playing time of their careers due to the sudden lack of depth. Still, Nebraska needs as many of its core starters back as possible to match up with a physical Iowa offense.

Wisconsin ran all over NU’s beat-up front seven to the tune of 31 carries for 252 yards and three touchdowns. Expect the Hawkeyes to try and do the same.

It’s become somewhat of a gag around Big Ten and national college football media to refer to Nebraska as the best bad team of all time.

At 3-8 overall and 1-7 in conference play, the Huskers are near the bottom of the league standings and officially cemented their fifth-straight year without a bowl berth.

But NU also achieved the distinction of doing something no other team in college football history had done before - lose an NCAA-record seven one-score games in a season.

Those eight defeats include near upsets of Oklahoma, Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, and now Wisconsin.

At some point, the odds suggest that luck will eventually swing back on Nebraska’s side. The question is, when will those almosts finally turn into victories?

There isn’t much left for the Huskers to play for outside of pride heading into their annual Black Friday rivalry with Iowa.

However, if NU can find a way to pull out a win, it would snap a six-year losing streak to the Hawkeyes and take home the Heroes Game Trophy for the first time since 2014.

There won’t be a bowl game, but that would give Nebraska some tangible positive momentum heading into Frost’s most critical offseason yet. Will this be the week the Huskers stop hoping for a victory and finally go out and take it?