Ball's status unknown for Saturday's B1G opener

Posted:

MADISON (WKOW) -- The Badger football team has had four weeks to get ready for Big Ten play, and now the conference opener is this Saturday night: Wisconsin at Nebraska.

There's still no word on whether running back Montee Ball will be able to play in that game; he sustained a concussion against UTEP. Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema says if Ball passes a concussion test, he could practice as early as Tuesday.

The good news is there are two other running backs ready and waiting in the wings in case Ball is not cleared to play Saturday: James White and Melvin Gordon, who combined for 177 rush yards and 3 touchdowns against UTEP.

"I couldn't be more proud of those two guys. The preparation that they put in, the patience they showed, and then when Montee went down they were excited about the opportunity," Bielema said. "The fun part for me was to watch after the game, when nobody was more excited for those two guys than Montee himself. And that's not just playing it up; that's truly how that room feels. By Thursday we'll know where Montee is at and we'll come up with a plan on how to use both Melvin and James accordingly."

You can catch Saturday's big game on WKOW. We'll take you right up to kickoff with our live Badgers-Huskers pregame special starting at 6:30 p.m.