It's hard to understand what took place earlier Saturday afternoon in Champaign. Homecoming for Illinois turned into a nightmare for the Wisconsin as the Badgers saw their perfect season and college football playoff hopes dissolve.

When stepping back and dissecting what led to Illinois' 24-23 upset victory, there are too many issues to point to just one player or play.

Let's get to our weekly grades, position-by-position.

The numbers for Jack Coan don't look as horrendous as one may think. The junior completed 24 of 32 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown. Coan's job isn't to win games for this Badgers team, but not to lose them. Unfortunately, this grade can't be higher than it is because of the one crucial 3rd and 5 decision that ultimately decided the game.

Was the play call correct? No. What it was, however, was the biggest mistake of the Wisconsin season and an interception that, despite being just one of many plays that went against the Badgers, was the crucial moment. Lack of turnovers had been a key to Coan's success all year long, and during the only time he and the Badgers faced adversity all year, he gave the football away.

The game should have been over with Wisconsin driving up 23-14 with around eight minutes on the clock in the fourth quarter. A fumble by Jonathan Taylor with 7:12 left in the contest was the spark that ignited the shocking Illinois comeback. This was a weakness that looked to have been sured up, but in this moment Taylor coughed one up. His first lost fumble of the season could not have come at a worse time for UW. The star junior finished 28 carries for 132 yards and a touchdown.

As is the story with Coan, Taylor's only play people will remember from this loss will be the turnover.

It's hard to fault Wisconsin receivers for the lack of shots taken down the field, and in the end this group did not have much of an affect on the final outcome. Danny Davis was positive for the Badgers on third down and he finished with five grabs for 38 yards. Quintez Cephus ended up leading the group statistically with five catches for 62 yards, although there was a lack of aggression in taking long gambles to the vertical threat.

Kendric Pryor had one grab for 35 yards and A.J. Taylor added a 3rd-down catch for first-down yardage.

There should be a strict "no A" policy when a team loses outright as a massive favorite. If anybody were to deserve an A grade, though, it would be tight end Jake Ferguson. After coming up a yard short on two separate occasions, Ferguson opened the game with an 18-yard score on Wisconsin's first drive. That was when everything was going according to plan for the Badgers' offense. The redshirt sophomore led Wisconsin's passing attack with five grabs for 77 yards.

Ferguson was also involved as the intended target on the interception by Coan during the final play of the last offensive series for the Badgers. It's hard to put the fault on him, although he wanted to shoulder some blame for the play in the post-game press conference.

Plain and simple, the Badgers offensive line that had been solid all year long was beaten up up by the Illini front seven. The space for Taylor was not there, and when Coan had success it was generally on quick releases.

This Fighting Illini defensive front was known to be a solid unit, but Wisconsin did not do its job at the line of scrimmage.

The front unit did not record a sack on the day and allowed big runs that started up front. Matt Henningsen and Isaiah Loudermilk finished with three tackles, but Illini running backs Reggie Corbin and Dre Brown knifed their way through large holes as they racked up 153 total yards on the ground.

The final drive of the game was where this unit had to step up and create some TFLs. They failed to do so and again allowed chunks of yardage to running backs that set up the eventual game winning field goal.

One of the only players in a white jersey that played with a spark today was senior linebacker Chris Orr. The Texas native had game high nine total tackles and a trio of sacks after only having two sacks throughout his career coming into this season. He was flying around the football field and wrecking havoc in the backfield against Illinois and quarterback Brandon Peters. Orr also made what appeared to be a near game-ender as he stuffed the Illini rushing attack on 4th and 1 with just under eight minutes remaining.

Jack Sanborn had a decent day to continue his strong season. The sophomore finished with seven total tackles and was credited with half a sack.

Stopping the run also falls on the shoulders of this group that had been so dominant up until today. The chunks of yardage given up on the ground were the difference in the final two minutes of action.

At the end of the third, defensive leader Zach Baun was involved in one of the most crucial plays of the game that may go relatively unnoticed. On a third down in its own territory, Illinois was looking for points down 20-7 late in the third quarter. Peters threw a pass that was tipped at the line and should have been fourth down. Baun jumped just a moment early and was flagged for off-sides that gave Illinois another third down shot and an eventual first down. That drive turned into the second touchdown of the day for the Illini and changed the momentum of the football game dramatically.

The senior finished the day with four tackles and a half a sack as well as a QB hurry, although that third-down mistake changed the football game.

Noah Burks was with a quiet pair of tackles and half sack.

Big plays were the issue for the Badgers, and on multiple occasions the corners were at fault. While it is hard to know what coverages and responsibilities were for specific plays, Rachad Wildgoose was the man involved in coverage on the 48-yard touchdown grab by Donny Navarro that opened the scoring for Illinois. Wildgoose didn't play it badly, but was also beaten on Josh Imatorbhebe's touchdown grab in the fourth quarter.

Caesar Williams was completely fooled by Imatorbhebhe on what would have been a long touchdown, but that was called back for the Illinois center being ineligible downfield.

Big plays were the issue, and the corners were at the heart of the problem.

The duo of Eric Burrell and Reggie Pearson were not at their absolute best on Saturday, but it's hard to fault them for the lackluster showing. Pearson had a massive third down pass breakup when Illinois was building momentum in the first half, and finished the day with five total tackles and two for loss. He left the game momentarily in the first half but appeared to be OK in his second-half return.

Burrell recorded five tackles as Illinois running backs consistently broke into the secondary throughout the day.

The story from special teams won't be the season-long field goal made from 44 yards out by Colin Larsh, but instead the crucial miss in the third quarter from 37. That kick would have extended the lead to 23-7 and would have changed the shape of the entirety of the football game. Kicking had been a question mark for Wisconsin, and as harsh as it is, the one miss out of four is all Badgers fans will remember.

Danny Davis had a solid 21-yard punt return and finished with two returns for 33 yards in all.

These grades don't reflect how poorly this game was managed and coached by a Wisconsin staff that has been perfect all year long. It was uncharacteristic from everyone on the Badgers sideline - players and coaches alike. It was shocking and it ended up being the second soul crushing loss in as many seasons for UW. The play calling needs to be addressed. The lack of creativity when things weren't going Wisconsin's way, the lack of vertical chances taken, and a 3rd and 9 run play in Illinois territory were all part of a questionably called game by Paul Chryst and his staff.

This had trap game written all over it, and the look-ahead factor proved to be real with Ohio State looming next week. This wasn't what this team had shown us through six weeks.