The Wisconsin Badgers finished a troubled week Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium, losing to Illinois 37-20 despite collecting five Illinois turnovers.
Jon Beutjer had a feast-or-famine performance against the Badger defense, throwing for 319 yards and four touchdowns while also throwing three interceptions. Illini tailback Antoineo Harris also found the going surprisingly easy on the ground as he gashed the Badgers for 161 yards on 40 carries.
Wisconsin knew that the Illini passing game would be difficult to handle coming in, but the way that Illinois was able to push UW around in the ground game was a bigger problem than the Badgers anticipated.
“Defensively, this was the first team that ran the ball consistently on us,” head coach Barry Alvarez said. “They were able to consistently get good gains.”
Early in the first quarter, Illinois and Wisconsin traded field goals before the Illini struck from 36 yards out with 2:59 remaining in the quarter. Beutjer found Greg Lewis in the back of the end zone to put Illinois up 10-3.
It appeared that Lewis was well covered, the ball was overthrown and that Lewis was out of the end zone, but the nearest official signaled that Lewis had a foot down. Replays showed that the ruling on the field was questionable at best.
“I understand that the replay showed that he was way out,” Alvarez said. “I was a long way away, so I did not see, but I felt and the kids felt that he was way out of bounds.”
With the Badger offense struggling, Illinois continued to attack after gaining the momentum and the lead in the first quarter. As the second quarter began, Beutjer once again found Lewis in the back of the end zone. This time there was no debate about the catch, as the Badger defenders were beaten soundly to give Illinois a 17-3 advantage 49 seconds into the second quarter.
On the next Illini drive, Walter Young was stripped of the ball by Jim Leonhard. Alex Lewis scooped up the fumble at the Wisconsin 42-yard line and raced 52 yards before being forced out of bounds at the Illinois six-yard line.
Dwayne Smith bounced off the left side of the Wisconsin line for a six-yard touchdown on the first play to get the Badgers back into the game with 11:07 seconds remaining in the half.
Smith’s touchdown was one of 28 carries that the freshman, who was making his first start, had on the day. Smith finished the afternoon with 127 yards but was the workhorse for Wisconsin in the first half, during which he gained 106 yards.
Leonhard continued what would be a rash of Illini turnovers when he intercepted a pass from Beutjer on the Illinois 43-yard line. UW immediately gained a first down, as Smith began the possession with carries of four and seven yards on consecutive plays to give the Badgers a first and 10 from at the Illini 32.
Unfortunately for UW, two penalties and an incompletion from Jim Sorgi, who started in place of the injured Brooks Bollinger, forced Wisconsin to settle for a 44-yard Mike Allen field goal with 7:31 remaining in the half.
After B.J. Tucker collected another Beutjer interception in the Wisconsin end zone, the Badgers moved the ball to the Illinois 39, where they faced a decision on fourth and three with just over a minute and a half to play in the second quarter. Wisconsin elected to go for it; the play resulted in a sack of Jim Sorgi, and Illinois took over near midfield.
Any momentum the Badgers had gained in the second quarter was lost when Beutjer connected with Lewis for 37 yards on third and 13 and then followed it with a 22-yard bullet to Walter Young in the left side of the end zone to go up 24-13. The Badgers had two players in front of Young, but the 6-foot-5-inch receiver went over them for the catch.
“He put himself in good position,” Alvarez said. “They have a lot of tall receivers. But I have to give him credit. He did a good job with leverage when the quarterback threw the ball.”
Wisconsin was given another immediate chance to get back in the game to begin the second half, as Harris fumbled the ball and UW recovered on the Illini 26. However, Wisconsin was ineffective on offense, going three and out before Mike Allen pushed his 42-yard field goal attempt wide right.
Of five Illinois turnovers, four of them gave Wisconsin the ball on Illinois’ side of the 50-yard line. However, the UW offense managed just 17 points off the good field position, with the two Wisconsin touchdowns coming when the offense took control of the ball on or inside the Illinois 10-yard line.
“We got the turnovers, but the offense isn’t capitalizing on them right now,” said safety Jim Leonhard, who had two interceptions on the day. “All we can do is keep getting them.”
Leonhard returned his second interception of the game to the Illinois 10-yard line, where Wisconsin used four plays to get into the end zone. Smith’s one-yard carry was his second touchdown of the game, getting the Badgers within four points. Wisconsin didn’t get any closer, despite the Badger passing game heating up late. Sorgi finished with 162 yards passing for Wisconsin.
The Illinois offense dominated the remainder of the third and fourth quarters. Beutjer threw a touchdown pass to Jason Davis while Harris controlled the clock, amassing 158 yards on 40 carries. A Peter Christofilakos field goal made the final score 37-20.
