I believed, but I wanted to see it. You might’ve felt the same way that I did before Saturday night.

Wisconsin did nothing in the first month of the season to dissuade me or anyone else from buying in. After all, the Badgers won their first three games by a combined 100 points. It wasn’t until last week against Northwestern that Wisconsin failed to win a game by double digits.

So naturally, the narratives were out there.

“Yeah, Wisconsin is off to a nice start, but it’s been all cupcakes.”

On the surface, Saturday night was not supposed to be a clash of the titans. Nebraska lost any right to be declared a titan when it lost to Northern Illinois at home.

But if you watched Saturday night, you saw exactly why the Huskers hadn’t lost a home game at night since 2008. They came out guns blazing, ready to fire away at the notion that the B1G West was Wisconsin and everyone else. The Huskers did exactly what they wanted to do. They ran the ball effectively, they kept Tanner Lee protected and the defense got pressure on Alex Hornibrook.

So how did the Badgers respond?

Oh, nothing really. Just another ho-hum, 21-point win.

In typical Wisconsin fashion, it was big boy football. It was pounding the rock. It was turning up the defensive tempo. It was finishing off drives with offensive linemen pushing tailbacks into the end zone. It was making the right adjustments.

It was saying to the college football world, “it’s time to start believing in Wisconsin.”

Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

As far as the B1G West division race is concerned, it is indeed Wisconsin and everyone else. The Badgers are now 2-0 in B1G play as the only remaining unbeaten West team. With essentially a two-game lead on Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa and Northwestern, the Badgers’ best competition might be…Purdue?

With all due respect to the improved Boilermakers, they aren’t winning this division instead of Wisconsin. They couldn’t have done what the Badgers did on Saturday night in Lincoln.

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But the winning the division was never really much of a question with the Badgers. The better question was, would they look like a default B1G West winner or would they look like a College Football Playoff contender?

Through five games, it’s definitely the latter.

This isn’t just one of those Wisconsin offenses that just has a dominant offensive line and has a few nice pieces around it. Jonathan Taylor is game-changer. He’s not Melvin Gordon yet, but those flashbacks were probably all too real for Nebraska fans.

Taylor scampered for 249 yards on 25 carries, including that deflating 75-yard touchdown run immediately after Nebraska scored its first touchdown of the game.

There’s something special about someone who can make those kind of plays this early in his career. Taylor is Gordon-like in his ability to will Wisconsin’s offense.

After Hornibrook did his best Lee imitation and threw that awful pick-six to tie the game in the third quarter. So, in typical Wisconsin fashion, it only attempted two passes the rest of the game. On three straight drives, the Badgers scored touchdowns and put the game away.

That’s what elite teams do on the road. They finish.

This was a Nebraska defense that had allowed 246 rushing yards in the last three games combined. Taylor topped that by himself on Saturday night. That was needed against a Husker defense that — with the exception of a couple crossing routes to Quintez Cephus — contained Hornibrook.

Will Wisconsin have to be more two-dimensional to beat elite teams? Probably, but look at the Badgers’ schedule.

Their future opponents are a combined 4-11 in B1G play. The Badgers’ only game against a ranked team left is when Michigan comes to Madison in mid-November. By the way, the Wolverines just lost to Michigan State. At home.

Saturday night was easily the toughest road game on Wisconsin’s schedule. Period. I don’t care about Nebraska’s NIU loss. It’s worth noting AGAIN that Nebraska hadn’t lost a home game at night since 2008.

Wait until next week when Ohio State goes into Lincoln for another Saturday night tilt and finds itself in a dog fight. Everyone will be talking about the Buckeyes’ hard-fought victory and praising their ability to win in a tough environment. In many ways, it’ll justify just how good this Wisconsin team is.

But that should’ve already happened on Saturday night.