For the second week in a row, the Badgers find themselves the underdog as they take on the Fighting Illini in Champaign, Ill.
Leading the charge for Illinois (5-1 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) is senior quarterback Kurt Kittner. Looking ahead to the 2002 NFL draft, Kittner has put on a stellar show this season, already eclipsing 1,400 passing yards for the third time at Illinois.
“He’s more of pure passer,” said Wisconsin defensive lineman Wendell Bryant. “He’s more of a reading quarterback. He reads his defenses really well.”
Kittner not only reads defenses, he breaks them down. The senior also leads the Big Ten in passing yardage (1438 yards), passing touchdowns (10) and passing offense with 239.4 yards per game.
And all this comes with a lot of experience. With 34 starts to his name, Kittner is looking to break the Fighting Illini school record for career passing touchdowns held by Jack Trudeau. Kittner is three shy of breaking the record of 55 and will likely tie it during this week’s game.
The Badgers, however, will do whatever they can to stop this feat from happening. Last week the Badgers held OSU to 70 yards in the last 40 minutes of play and held them scoreless for the entire second half. This defensive force has enabled the Badger offense to stay on the field longer, thus giving Wisconsin more time and opportunity to score.
The longer the offense is on the field, the better the chance for RB Anthony Davis and WR Lee Evans to break the 1,000-yard mark at their respective positions this season, which could happen against the Illini. Davis needs 194 more yards to become just the seventh freshman to in Big Ten history rush for 1,000 yards and keep alive the Badgers’ streak of eight consecutive years with a 1,000-yard rusher.
Evans needs only 190 yards to become the first Badger receiver to break the 1000-yard barrier in school history.
While eyes are on Davis and Evans, another Davis is also performing well on the field — receiver Nick Davis. After struggling in the first games of the season, Nick Davis has stepped up his performance in practice over the past couple of weeks. This extra work paid off against the Buckeyes last Saturday.
“He really played a great game,” offensive coordinator Brian White said of Nick Davis’ game at OSU. “He had a tremendous week of practice, so it’s nice to see him take practice to the field.”
This week, with the heavy attack of blitzes and stunts at the line by Illinois, watch for Nick Davis and Evans to get more quick passes, as quarterback Brooks Bollinger will have little time in the pocket to float around.
“We’re preparing for an awful lot of blitzing,” White said. “[Illinois does] a lot of different fronts and stunts. They are a team that changes things up every snap. We’re trying to prepare for everything and yet be as simple as we can at the same time.”
By bringing so much diversity to the field, Illinois’ defense is a force to be reckoned with. They are ranked third in the Big Ten for sacks given (21), are 14th nationally in forced turnovers with 15 through five games, and No. 12 in the country in turnover margin.
As if this defensive unit, as well as the Kittner-led offense, weren’t enough for UW to deal with, they will also have to battle the intensity of the crowd. This is Illinois’ homecoming and a sold-out crowd of 70,904 is expected.
