CHAMPAIGN, ILL. — Welcome to the Herald Sports live blog! We’re here at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, where the No. 17 Wisconsin Badgers (8-2, 4-2) will face the Illinois Fighting Illini (6-4, 2-4) at 11 a.m.
The Badgers, of course, now control their own destiny in the Big Ten after losses by Ohio State and Penn State last weekend. Should Wisconsin defeat Illinois today and Penn State next week, the Badgers would represent the Big Ten Leaders Division in the conference’s inaugural championship game Dec. 3
Illinois, meanwhile, has lost four consecutive games after beginning the season with a six-game win streak. Head coach Ron Zook is once again on the hot seat in Champaign, and even though the Illini are bowl eligible, there might not be much the seventh-year coach can do to save his job.
I’ll be hopping on the broadcast for our friends at WSUM 91.7 FM (listen live at wsum.org), so Kelly will be doing the brunt of the work on the live blog. I’ll chime in as much as possible, of course. Also be sure to follow @BHeraldSports on Twitter, as we’ll have plenty of updates all game long, and afterward for post-game reaction. Thanks for following, and have a great Saturday.