Illinois will be looking for its third consecutive victory when it travels to face reeling Wisconsin in a Big Ten matchup Saturday in Madison, Wis.
No. 21 Illinois (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) is coming off a 24-6 win at home over Maryland behind two touchdown passes by Luke Altmyer. The Illini have won two straight after back-to-back losses knocked them out the playoff picture.
Wisconsin (3-7, 1-6) lost 31-7 at No. 2 Indiana after trailing just 10-7 at halftime. The Badgers are 1-7 since opening with a pair of nondescript victories over Miami (Ohio) and Middle Tennessee.
Illinois coach Bret Bielema was the head coach at Wisconsin from 2006-2012, posting a 68-24 record and leading the Badgers to three Big Ten titles. Even with a stint at Arkansas in between Wisconsin and Illinois, the connection still is a topic for discussion.
“I think it goes back to when I was at Wisconsin as a defensive coordinator and I went to Iowa for the first time,” Bielema said. “Everybody made it about that, and I quickly realized that the only time that really matters is after the game.”
Illinois averages 32.2 points per game and 386.1 yards per game, including 245.7 through the air.
Altmyer has 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 those coming 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 one touchdown and one interception.
The Badgers were outgained 388-168 and were just 2-of-11 on third-down conversions.
“Obviously, losing is always difficult, but I just think the way that we played in the first half and then the way that we played the second half, it was hard,” Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said Monday.
“It was disappointing, and I wanted to make sure our guys understood that and knew that there is no silver lining in the fact that you played well in the first half, but didn’t come out the second half.”
Wisconsin is averaging just 12.0 points and 246.8 yards per game, both last among Big Ten teams by a wide margin.
–Field Level Media
