After being shocked by UNLV, bouncing back against North Carolina last week was an important step for the Badgers on their road to redemption. Hopefully it’s a step that will restore some of the team’s lost confidence, and a road that the Badgers will continue along this week against Illinois in their Big Ten conference opener.

The Illini have opened their second consecutive season at 1-3, but last week’s narrow loss to California showed a bit more potential than anyone really thought there would be in Champange-Urbana this year.

With that in mind, here are five keys to outfighting the Illini:

Keep it on the ground

Against the Tar Heels the Badgers didn’t really start to groove until they allowed the running game to take over. Anthony Davis will most likely be sidelined again this week, and Dwayne Smith’s status is uncertain. But freshman Booker Stanley took over last week’s game and figures to not have any more trouble with the Illini’s defense.

The Badgers’ talented offensive line should barrel right over Illinois’ questionable defense, and Booker should be seeing holes the size of Lake Mendota all day. Getting him 30 carries this week may well result in an even more impressive performance than his 119-yard breakout last week.

Get it to Lee

The Illini aren’t known for their defense, and tackling in the secondary has been a serious concern so far this year. With his breakaway speed and sure hands, the Badgers have the perfect player to take advantage of this deficiency in Lee Evans.

Evans has posted only one game over the 100-yard mark so far this year (albeit that was a 214 yard performance), as quarterback Jim Sorgi has had trouble connecting with him. While the Badgers should concentrate on the running game, getting Evans the ball could turn into a quick seven.

Don’t allow Beutjer to take over

Illinois quarterback Jon Beutjer is coming off an astounding game against California, in which he passed for 430 yards and completed 35 of his 57 passing attempts. He threw three touchdown passes, making himself an easy pick for Big Ten offensive player of the week.

The Badgers have already seen one hyped quarterback this year in Akron’s Charlie Frye, who lit the Badgers up for 372 yards. A saving grace in that game came from Anthony Davis and Lee Evans’ dominating performances, but with “AD” out this week and Sorgi struggling recently (four interceptions, two touchdowns in the past two weeks), the Badgers can’t afford to count on a repeat of that offensive outburst.

If Beutjer steps all over the Badgers the way he stepped all over California, the offense may not be there to bail the defense out.

Win the special teams war

Both Illinois and Wisconsin had dubious special teams performances last week, and both teams will try to correct the flaws in their units this week. Illinois coach Ron Turner sent his team out to practice in full gear Sunday after allowing a special teams touchdown to be the difference in their Saturday loss to Cal.

Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez also has addressed the issue: identifying where the breakdown was coming, and even giving some fresh faces a chance to improve the unit. If either of the teams’ special teams units doesn’t perform, it could change the complexion of the game very quickly.

Let Illinois make the stupid mistakes

This game really should be a walk for the Badgers, but after losing to UNLV two weeks ago it’s hard to take any game for granted. The single most important thing for Wisconsin will be to not let bad decision-making control the game.

Illinois has displayed a knack this year for allowing mental mistakes to affect the outcomes of their games. Last week they were forced to throw away their final timeout because they had the wrong players on the field. That final timeout would have helped the fighting Illini as they frantically tried to drive down the field, because they ended up taking a fourth-down sack that left them one score shy of the Golden Bears.

UW has the talent to go a long way this year, but thus far they have played on talent alone. If the Badgers hope to beat the Illini — if the Badgers hope to keep winning all year — they’ll have to find a way not to beat themselves.