[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Sometimes it's easier said than done.

Wisconsin was all about preparation last week, watching film, familiarizing itself with Illinois' tendencies and formulating a simple game plan.

"We really thought that if we matched up with them well, and we wanted to come out and play football," cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu said. "We thought we were ready."

Even though UW understood top to bottom what Illinois would do, the defense couldn't stop the Illini from running at will. Illinois finished with 289 rushing yards on 44 carries (6.6 yards per carry).

"We knew they were going to run, we knew where they were going to run and we couldn't stop it," Ikegwuonu said.

Aside from the first play of the game when defensive tackle Nick Hadyen snuck around the outside and sacked Illinois quarterback Isiah "Juice" Williams for a 6-yard loss, the Badgers' defense looked overmatched.

Mendenhall's second and third rushes went for a combined 58 yards. Included, was a 32-yard touchdown scamper to give Illinois a 7-0 lead. At the conclusion of the first quarter, the junior back had 88 yards on the ground on just 4 carries.

Mendenhall was good, finishing with 193 total yards (160 on the ground) and three touchdowns, but the defense's struggles to take down the 5-foot-11, 224-pound back contributed to his numbers. The problem, according to Ikegwuonu, was the Badgers were getting out of position and being forced to try and arm-tackle a guy "with muscles everywhere."

"He's a hard runner. … If you get out of position against a guy like that, trying to make arm tackles, or tackle his feet, he's going to run right through the tackle," Ikegwuonu said.

The option play, in particular, was a point of concern for Wisconsin. Several times, the UW defenders failed to cover up the ball carrier, allowing Williams to bust out three runs for 24 yards apiece.

"I got there a little too fast, and he turned it upfield," Ikegwuonu said of one of Williams' runs when he covered the pitch, instead of trying to tackle Williams.

However, Ikegwuonu can't cover two potential ball carriers, so someone else needed to be there.

"I have to force him to make a decision and really crack my safeties and linebackers. … Somebody is supposed to be there, and there is no excuses for that," he said.

The lack of discipline in regards to the fundamentals of tackling, staying in position, attacking the ball carrier and fighting through blocks set up numerous big gains.

"That’s surprising because that’s not a characteristic of a Wisconsin defense," Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley said. "From what we’ve seen on tape, they’re a team that obviously prides themselves on not giving up big plays and getting the ball carriers down on the ground, but I also think our ball carriers did a good job of maybe having something to do with it."

Wisconsin gave up seven rushes that went for more than 20 yards. For the second straight week its opponent ran for over 240 yards.

"When you have a strong running attack, everyone needs to be disciplined in what they're supposed to do," cornerback Allen Langford said.

"When you play Illinois or UW-Oshkosh — it doesn't matter who you play — if you play undisciplined football, you're going to get beat," Ikegwuonu added.

According to Ikegwuonu, the Wisconsin coaching staff said all week in preparation for Saturday's game, "if you win one-on-one battles, you're going to win the game."

"We probably didn't win too many one-on-one battles today; we played out of position, made mistakes, didn't get around guys on blocks — we can't do this against any Big Ten team and expect to win," he said.

One of the harshest critics of his own play was junior linebacker DeAndre Levy.

"It was one of my most embarrassing performances," Levy said. "It's inexcusable; I missed a lot of tackles."

In addition to the woes stopping Illinois from running the football, Wisconsin couldn't force any turnovers or stop the Illini on third down, who converted 8 of 15 chances. For the third straight week, the Badgers failed to force an interception. During that stretch, Wisconsin is minus-6 in the turnover differential.

"Hopefully we can get this corrected because it's going to be a long year if we don't," Langford said.