[media-credit name=’MIKE POPPY/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Senior wide receiver Luke Swan left the game late in the second quarter with a leg injury. He hurt it on a play over the middle on a third-down reception that set up Wisconsin at the 7-yard line. Swan missed the rest of the game, and his status is uncertain for Saturday against Penn State.

"I don't know his position," UW head coach Bret Bielema said. "The last hit kind of bent him in an awkward position and took him out for the rest of the game."

Already without the services of other starter Paul Hubbard, who injured his knee in the game against UNLV, Wisconsin was forced to heavily rely on tight ends Travis Beckum, Garrett Graham and freshmen wideouts David Gilreath and Kyle Jefferson.

"It affects us, but we're going to have to find ways to get it done," Donovan said of losing his top target, Swan. "Those guys have been put in some tough situations already this year, and my hat goes off to them for doing a good job."

Picking up for Swan, all four receivers set some sort of career high. Jefferson had a personal best three receptions. Gilreath caught the first ball of his collegiate career. And Graham and Beckum set personal bests in catches (5 and 11) and yards (68 and 160).

Also missing the game were backup safeties Kim Royston and Jay Valai and middle linebacker Elijah Hodge.

"Basically in the last game against Michigan State, [Hodge] was playing on half a leg in the second half," Bielema said. "After sitting him in practice, we felt that since we didn't prep him at all, he should sit out."

Redshirt freshman Culmer St. Jean replaced Hodge in the lineup and went unnoticed for the most part, which is a good thing. He finished with five tackles.

"Culmer played a very good game for his first start," linebacker DeAndre Levy said.

Streak ends at 14

Vegas was right. All good things come to an end.

Wisconsin, slated as two-and-a-half point underdogs, ended the nation's longest winning streak at 14 games with its 31-26 loss to Illinois. The defeat also ended the Badgers' program record nine-game Big Ten winning streak dating back to Sept. 23, 2006.

"It's always hard to lose … especially when you feel like it was right there for you, we just didn't grab it, we just didn't go out there and take it," cornerback Allen Langford said. "[We had] a lot of missed opportunities."

For some of the key contributors in the game Saturday, including Graham and Jefferson, it was their first taste of being in the red.

Bielema hopes that like a year ago after Michigan defeated Wisconsin in the Big Ten opener, his players will come together next week.

"I like the way the players responded a year ago," he said. "I got the same coaches that think the same way and act the same way."

Career day turns sour

Quarterback Tyler Donovan was forced to throw the ball more often than he ever has in his young career as the Badgers' primary signal caller.

He passed for a career-high 392 yards on 49 attempts, mostly because his team staked its way to an early 17-0 deficit and the running game was slowed by strong upfront play by the Illini. Both are the third-most in UW history, and the most in more than 10 years.

"If they're stopping your run game, you have to come out and throw and find a way to move the ball down the field," Donovan said.

For totaling as many yards as Donovan did, it was his mistakes that stand out the most, according to Bielema.

"[Donovan had] a few big interceptions," Bielema said. "The first one got away from [Donovan] a little bit. The second one the guy made a great play along the sideline. But the bottom line is for us to come away with a victory, we need to be clean in all phases of the game."

In addition to throwing two interceptions, one when Wisconsin was driving down field trailing 24-19, Donovan also had a difficult time hitting receivers in stride and finding the ones who were open downfield.

Zach Brown sighting

With Lance Smith suspended for all road games this season and P.J. Hill on the sidelines riding a bike to loosen up a pulled groin, Bielema inserted true freshman Zach Brown into the fray. Brown, whose last carry entering the game came against The Citadel in week three and resulted in a fumble, helped key a third-quarter touchdown drive with two rushes for 15 yards, including an 8-yard scamper that he was just a shoestring tackle from 6 points. For the game, Brown finished with 17 yards on 4 carries.

"He played well. He had a great game for us in relief (of Hill)," Donovan said.