Wisconsin Football: Badgers deliver beatdown to hapless Illinois
Wisconsin Football came into Week 8 looking to bounce back after a bad loss to the Wolverines last weekend. A matchup against Illinois was just what the team needed to turn things around.
Wisconsin needed to start the game of fast to get the stench off from last weeks lost to Michigan. Illinois has been a punching bag for Big Ten teams this year, giving up 42 points per game in three conference matchups.
Jonathan Taylor had a good game running the ball but didn’t find the end zone. He finished the game with 27 rushes for 159 yards.
Taiwan Deal struck lightning in a bottle, rushing for over 100 yards and scoring twice. It has been very surprising to see Taylor be held scoreless in such a dominating win, but it proves that Wisconsin has a stable of capable runners that can pick up the slack when he isn’t on the field.
Quarterback Alex Hornibrook played up to his standards, with two touchdown passes in the first half and finished the game 13 for 22 with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Badgers defense started off really good shutting down the Illinois offense for most of the first half. Outside of an 80-yard touchdown run, the defense of front seven imposed there will on the Illinois offensive line. The passing defense looked phenomenal as the Illini finished just 9-of-21 for 90 yards through the air.
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Wisconsin faces Northwestern in Evanston next week and currently sits at 3-1 in the Big Ten. They have an outside chance of making the Big Ten championship but this game could begin a three-game winning streak before a trip to Happy Valley. If they take care of business as they did in this game Wisconsin should clinch the West Division with a win over Penn State
What do you think of Wisconsin’s victory this week? Comment below and let’s get ready for Week 9!