There would be no upset to start this 2020 season for the No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers as Paul Chryst and his program asserted themselves at the end of the first half and rolled to a 45-7 victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday night.

As BadgerBlitz.com continues to do, we present our postgame, position-by-position grades.

What a debut by Graham Mertz. Not much could have gone better for the redshirt freshman, who completed 20-of-21 passes (breaking Alex Hornibrook's single-game school completion percentage record vs. BYU in 2017) for 248 yards with five touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Mertz hit six different receiving targets on the evening, leaning on tight end Jake Ferguson for seven receptions for 72 yards and three touchdowns. Showing some touch and accuracy near the goal line, he also aired it out deep to senior Danny Davis for a 53-yard touchdown pass at the end of the first half.

In the first two quarters alone, he completed all 14 of his throws for 190 yards and four touchdowns.

The hype has reached astronomical, exponential levels for the former four-star recruit, especially tying the school record for touchdown passes and consecutive completions (17).

Wisconsin' running game started off cool, but it started waring down the Illinois defense in the second half. It nearly doubled up in yards during the final two quarters (120) compared to what they gained in the first half (62); however that was when the game was more in hand.

Garrett Groshek nearly accumulated 100 all-purpose yards on the night, as he ran for 70 yards on 13 carries while also catching four passes for 29 yards. Judging off the TV copy of the game, he showed patience in the run game and follow blockers while also making receptions out of the backfield. He had two of the team's four "chunk" or "big" plays on the ground (runs of 10 or more yards).

However, 55 of those yards came on eight attempts in the final 15 minutes.

Nakia Watson carried the ball 19 times for 62 yards. The redshirt sophomore made some runs of eight yards, but never had a chance to get beyond the second level. He also had four negative runs as well.

Fellow redshirt sophomore Isaac Guerendo also got some work in the backfield (36 yards on 11 carries), though 13 of those came on a fourth-quarter run.

The grade bumps a bit with the fullbacks' performance. Mason Stokke caught Mertz's first career touchdown pass in the first quarter on a 10-yard catch, while junior John Chenal followed the redshirt senior in for a goal line score in the final frame.

Three receivers caught passes from Mertz in the win, led by both redshirt seniors Kendric Pryor and Jack Dunn (three each). Pryor averaged 14.7 yards per reception on in hauling in his trio of opportunities; Dunn just seven per catch which included some work in the screen game.

Many asked where Wisconsin would find a deep threat this season with Quintez Cephus heading to the NFL. Davis answered the call for Friday night's contest with his two catches for 72 yards that included the 53-yard touchdown late in the second quarter.

The receivers did not factor much in the run game, however. They combined for nine yards on three rushes.

Mertz targeted redshirt junior Jake Ferguson the most against Illinois's defense, and they made Lovie Smith's defense pay dearly. Yes, the Madison (WI) Memorial product fumbled in the second quarter, leading to the only touchdown of the game for the Big Ten West foe; that said, he more than made up for it with his seven-catch, 72-yard performance that included the trio of receiving scores.

The drive after the fumble, Mertz and Ferguson connected on a beautiful 34-yard catch down the left sideline. Two plays later, the young signal caller went back to the veteran for a 14-yard strike in the middle of the north end zone.

Also, Hayden Rucci received his first snaps of his playing career on Friday night. It will be interesting to see what Pro Football Focus's grade will be for the redshirt freshman, but Wisconsin deployed a lot of multiple tight end plays. He appeared to receive a significant amount of snaps.

Rucci committed a false start penalty, but it ended up not stalling UW on its second touchdown drive.

With a new configuration of starters and facing a decently stout front seven for Illinois, I think there is plenty to work on. That said, there were some definite bright spots and they allowed Mertz to stay mostly comfortable in the pocket all night.

The rushing attack did not really start moving until the second half when Wisconsin was already up big, but it was a promising sign that the line and ground game picked up in the second half in starting to gain more control of the line of scrimmage.

There were no penalties on the offensive line outside of a Jon Dietzen hold that was declined, and the offense as a whole mostly kept Mertz upright (two sacks allowed, but based on rewatching them, I would not blame those on the linemen themselves).

Wisconsin, overall, contained Illinois to 218 yards, and that was thanks in part to a strong effort of its defensive line. Though quarterback Brandon Peters gained 75 yards rushing on the evening on seven carries, the rest of the team accumulated just 56 on the ground.

Isaiahh Loudermilk registered a key third down sack late in the second quarter, which forced an Illinois punt that led to Wisconsin's fourth touchdown of the half. Keeanu Benton and Garrett Rand combined for seven stops, with the former being officially credited with a first-quarter forced fumble that eventually resulted in UW's first points of the game.

Wisconsin allowed two 30-yard plus runs to Peters, but it eventually clamped down nicely.

Two of UW's three sacks came from Bobby April III's room.

True freshman Nick Herbig made his first start on Friday, and there will be things for the first-year player to clean up. He registered his first career sack in the second quarter while also having a pass breakup in the first half.

Redshirt senior Noah Burks logged a tackle and fumble recovery, while I thought C.J. Goetz flashed in some of his snaps. The redshirt sophomore played a key tackle in the second quarter that forced a fourth down attempt, and the last play of the game ended with his sack of quarterback Matt Robinson. Overall, the former Waukesha (WI) Catholic Memorial standout registered three tackles, all solo.

Making his first start, sophomore Leo Chenal finished with four tackles (one solo), while junior Jack Sanborn registered three stops (one solo). However, the latter also recorded two quarterback hurries.

How would Wisconsin's secondary respond to a receiver like Josh Imatorbhebhe?

Very well.

The receiver led the team in receptions, but that was merely a trio of catches for 26 yards. Only two Illinois wide outs caught passes on the evening, as Peters completed just 8-of-19 throws for 87 yards.

Cornerback Rachad Wildgoose had one of the team's six tackles for loss, and recorded three tackles overall.

Piggybacking off of the work of the corners, the safeties grounded anything Illinois's passing game threw at them.

Collin Wilder and Eric Burrell combined for seven tackles, with the latter also registering a pass breakup. Late in the game, redshirt sophomore John Torchio recorded a firm tackle for loss, while redshirt freshman Titus Toler came down with his first career interception late in the fourth quarter.

Punter Andy Vujnovich made his FBS debut with a 60-yard boot. He averaged 46 yards per attempt in four tries, including two inside the 20-yard line.

Collin Larsh made all six extra point attempts while adding on a chip-shot 19-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. Freshman walk-on Jack Van Dyke recorded eight kickoffs with just one touchback, but Illinois's average starting field position was its own 26-yard line.

Not much really for Wisconsin in terms of punt returns, and Stephan Bracey's long kickoff return to start the third quarter was eventually overruled as he had a knee down at the four-yard line.

That was an impressive start to the season for Wisconsin. How the rushing attack improves from Week 1 to Week 2, and how Mertz looks in his second career start on the road in Lincoln will be storylines to follow throughout the next eight days.

For now, a stout defensive effort and the redshirt freshman's explosive start will captivate many for the Big Ten's opening weekend.