CHAMPAIGN - In the fourth conference game of the season, the Wisconsin Badgers beat the Illinois Fighting Illini, 25-21.
The Badgers traveled to Champaign looking to forget their recent game against Iowa, where they were beaten 15-6 in their ugliest performance all year. They faced an Illini team led by ex-Badger coach Bret Bielema, who nearly beat his former team for the second year in a row.
Like some early games for the Badgers this season, Saturday was a tale of two halves. They were down by two touchdowns at multiple points in the game, but eventually roared back in the fourth quarter to steal a close victory.
Here are my three biggest takeaways from today’s win.
1. The Braedyn Locke game
All eyes have been on Braedyn Locke since Tanner Mordecai fractured his hand last week. He was thrown into the fire against Iowa and played fine, but still couldn’t make an impact on the game.
Saturday was the first start of his career, but you couldn’t really tell.
“Last week was a rough one, especially for him. He comes in there in a really tough situation, but he did show me something last week. As tough as it was, he didn’t look overwhelmed. He didn’t look like he was rattled. He had a poise and patience, maybe a little bit too much, he didn’t throw the ball away,” Luke Fickell said after the game. “But I really believe that he’s got an internal confidence. He’s got some poise to him. And I really think that last week helped him in a lot of ways. He’s gonna continue to grow. He did a phenomenal job today.”
Locke’s inexperience was only obvious in the first half. He came out and looked somewhat jittery, struggling with inaccuracy and even fumbling on their second drive.
The turning point was their last series of the first half. Locke led the offense 73 yards down the field in just a minute and 37 seconds, cutting the deficit to just 14-7.
The real magic happened in the fourth quarter. Down 11 with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, Locke threw a deep ball to a triple-covered Will Pauling. The slot receiver leapt into the air and grabbed the first touchdown of his career.
It was among the most impressive and least logical throws of Wisconsin’s season.
Locke pulled off another jaw-dropping play on the next drive. He threw a perfect deep ball to Skyler Bell to get to the Illinois 5.
They took the lead three plays later with a pass to tackle Nolan Rucci of all people, securing the win.
2. Wisconsin had no answers for the run game
Despite the Badgers pulling a win out at the last second, the Illinois offense stayed in control for nearly the entire game, and that’s mostly due to their dominant rushing performance.
Defending the run began as a weakness for this Badgers team, but was slowly becoming a strength. Improving their run defense was the primary focus during the bye, then they came out the next week against Rutgers and held them to just 64 yards on 2.9 per carry. They also mostly contained the Iowa rushing attack, apart from the one 82-yard touchdown.
The Rutgers game is starting to appear like an aberration.
Wisconsin had absolutely no answer for quarterback Luke Altmyer. He finished with 100 yards on 16 carries, and had open space whenever he stepped up in the pocket. The Badgers also let freshman Kaden Feagin rush for 97 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries.
They eventually improved enough to give the offense a chance to win, but it took time.
“We just had to start playing better. We were flat, we were slow, we weren’t playing the line of scrimmage like we need to,” Hunter Wohler said. “So once we start doing that, we’re a good defense, I promise you that.”
Defending the run should be near the top of the priority list ahead of next week’s matchup against Ohio State.
3. Wisconsin's resiliency won the game
The most astounding part of the game, more than any singular performance or moment, was the incredible resiliency and poise the Badgers showed after such a disastrous start.
Wisconsin’s first half felt like a rerun of the Iowa game. They were called for six penalties in the first quarter alone, including on some crucial third downs.
They also couldn’t hold on to the ball. Locke fumbled, then they dropped the snap on the second quarter field goal attempt, which felt like the low point of the Badgers’ season.
The offense began to improve by the end of the first half, but they were still down by two possessions until almost halfway through the fourth quarter.
Then it happened. Locke pulled off some of the most impressive throws of Wisconsin’s season. He deserves plenty of credit, as do Pauling, Bell and Braelon Allen. But the entire team absolutely shifted. I can’t remember another Badger game with such a drastic turn in momentum.
“I’m sure you all had your doubts, not unlike a lot of us,” Fickell said. “But I told those guys afterwards that this is the first time in 10 months that I’ve seen that of our guys.”
If the season ends on a high note, I think we’ll look back to this game as the turning point.
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