Ryan Connelly
Ryan Connelly stepped into the Wisconsin starting lineup in place of the injured Jack Cichy and the sophomore didn’t skip a beat.
Connelly logged a career-high 11 tackles and finished with two tackles for loss and a pair of pass breakups. For his efforts, Connelly today was named the Big Ten’s co-Defensive Player of the Week.
Connellly made crucial tackles on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter, then made another big stop in overtime to help the Badgers knock off the Nebraska Cornhuskers 23-17 in overtime.
The Badgers are playing without two dominant inside linebackers, Jack Cichy and Chris Orr, both of whom are out with season-ending injuries.
But Wisconsin has still managed to dominate defensively. The Badgers rank number-three in the FBS in scoring defense, allowing just 14.6 points per game. They’re ninth in total defense, allowing 301.1 yards a game.