MADISON, Wis. – Graham Mertz said he was confident and ready if given the opportunity to make his first collegiate start. He wasn’t kidding.
The school’s latest season opener in over 100 years will be remember as the first act of the Mertz show, as the redshirt freshman quarterback threw five touchdowns and no interceptions to put No.14 Wisconsin on the path to a 45-7 victory over Illinois.
Completing a school record 95.2 percent of his passes (20-for-21), Mertz threw for 248 yards in a performance that at times looked effortless. Junior tight end Jake Ferguson caught three of his touchdowns, one more touchdown he scored all of 2019, and finished by catching all seven of his targets for 72 yards.
“I thought he had good poise,” head coach Paul Chryst said of Mertz. “I thought he saw the field well. You never know quite how someone's going to react in their first start. I thought he was himself. And that you appreciate. I thought there was a good plan for him by the offensive coaches. He was able to execute it.”
Throw in the defense deflating Illinois from start to finish and Wisconsin (1-0), which won its Big Ten opener for the fifth straight year, gave no hint that it’s relinquishing its spot on top of the Big Ten West mountain.
Initially content with throwing passes to his tailbacks and fullbacks, Mertz eventually expanded his arsenal. He targeted Ferguson and receiver Danny Davis over the middle of the field to start stretching the defense. He threw three scores to Ferguson in the red zone, the second of which was aided by his tight end elevating for the pass and holding on after a heavy lick. His final pass of the half was the jaw dropper.
Promising media the down-field passing attack would be there, Mertz delivered a perfect deep pass to Davis, who was wide open and jogged into the end zone for a 53-yard score. As he jogged into the locker room for halftime, cameras caught Mertz with his tongue hanging out, apparently thirsty for more.
But while Mertz’s perfection may have come as a surprise, the play of Wisconsin’s defense delivered. A team expected to be led by its eight returning starters didn’t wait long to flex its muscles, as nose tackle Keeanu Benton forced a fumble on the game’s second offensive play that gave UW prime field position at the Illinois 33. With Mertz relying heavily on his tailbacks, both on the ground and in the air, the Badgers took a 7-0 lead off a 10-yard fullback pass to Mason Stokke.
"I thought defensively we had a couple times where they were getting a drive going, yet I thought we responded and had some key fourth-down stops," Chryst said. "That's a big part of it. I think if we can build on that and grow from those things, adversity is going to come your way, but it's how you respond that matters most. I was proud of the way that different situations, this group tonight, responded."
Held to only 122 yards of first-half offense (81 coming on three plays) Illinois (0-1) scored its only points late in the second quarter when Tarique Barnes returned a Ferguson fumble for 39 yards and got little going in the second half. Holding the ball for only 16 minutes, 32 seconds, the Badgers twice turned Illini over on downs and weren’t flagged once.
After giving up a late 10 points in Illinois' upset-win over Wisconsin last year, the Badgers drove their point home. UW capped off an 11-play drive with a play-action touchdown pass and saw redshirt freshman safety Titus Toler deliver his first collegiate interception with less than five minutes to go.
Wisconsin's defense held Illinois to 218 total yards, forced two turnovers, delivered six tackles for loss and three sacks, all while not being flagged once. How's that for dominant?
"Every one of us will find things we can do to get better and need to get better at," Chryst said. "But you're also grateful tonight for all the efforts that went into earning this victory. You appreciate that tonight and get moving forward tomorrow."
Wisconsin will play its first road game next week when it stays within the Big Ten West Division to play Nebraska. Kickoff from Lincoln is set for 2:30 p.m. CT and will be televised by FS1.
