Illinois will look for its third straight victory when it travels to face a reeling Wisconsin in a Big Ten game Saturday in Madison, Wisconsin.
No. 21 Illinois (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) is coming off a 24-6 home victory over Maryland thanks to two touchdown passes from Luke Altmyer. The Illini have won two in a row after back-to-back losses eliminated them from the playoffs.
Wisconsin (3-7, 1-6) lost 31-7 at No. 2 Indiana after trailing 10-7 at halftime. The Badgers are 1-7 since opening with two nondescript wins over Miami (Ohio) and Middle Tennessee.
Illinois coach Bret Bielema was Wisconsin’s head coach from 2006 to 2012, going 68-24 and leading the Badgers to three Big Ten titles. Even with a stay in Arkansas, between Wisconsin and Illinois, the connection remains a topic of discussion.
“I think it goes back to when I was at Wisconsin as defensive coordinator and I went to Iowa for the first time,” Bielema said. “Everyone talked about it and I quickly understood that the only time that really matters is after the match.”
Illinois is averaging 32.2 points per game and 386.1 yards per game, including 245.7 through the air.
Altmyer completed 195 of 282 passes (69.1%) with 21 touchdowns and five interceptions. Hank Beatty is the top target with 54 catches for 758 yards and three touchdowns.
Wisconsin has scored just 27 points in its last five games, nearly half of which came in a 13-10 win over Washington.
True freshman quarterback Carter Smith made his first career start against Indiana, completing 9 of 15 passes for 98 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The Badgers were outscored 388-168 and were just 2 of 11 on third down conversions.
“Obviously losing is always tough, but I just think the way we played in the first half and then the way we played the second half, it was tough,” Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said Monday.
“It was disappointing, and I wanted to make sure our guys understood that and knew there was no silver lining to you playing well in the first half, but not coming out in the second half.”
Wisconsin is averaging just 12.0 points and 246.8 yards per game, bottom two among Big Ten teams by a wide margin.
–Field level media
