Before the No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers take the field against Illinois, BadgerBlitz.com asks five burning questions heading into the Big Ten West matchup.
1. Which carry will Jonathan Taylor break the 5,000-yard threshold with?
After being held to just 80 yards on 26 carries, running back Jonathan Taylor now sits just four yards shy of the 5,000-yard mark for his career -- an even more impressive mark considering he is 2.5 years into his collegiate career.
As noted in UW's game notes this week, Taylor will rise into an esteemed set of backs who have gone over that historic accomplishment before the finale of their respective junior years. That group includes Herschel Walker, LaMichael James and, of course, one Ron Dayne. The kicker, however, is that he currently has 20 carries less than James to reach that mark. So long as he does not lose yardage or is stopped for no gain on the first 19 carries on Saturday -- against an Illinois unit giving up 201.8 yards per game on the ground -- he will stand alone and become the quickest to reach that achievement.
Since Taylor and the offense could not reach that personal feat in front of a reported 80,000-plus last weekend inside Camp Randall Stadium, will it be his first, his second, maybe his third carry? Will the Illinois defense hone in on the New Jersey native and make it extremely difficult on the first series?
2. Will the defense pitch another shutout on the road?
Much like Taylor, I am starting to have trouble in finding words how to describe defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard's unit. Also called out by UW in its game notes, it ranks first in several categories, including scoring defense (4.8 points per game), total defense (173.7 yards per game), rushing defense (44.7 yards per game), passing defense (129 yards per game), team passing efficiency defense (75.4) and yards per play (3.06).
Four of the six games the defense has stymied its opponents with zero points on the scoreboard. Wisconsin is quick to point out it that is the first conference team since Michigan's 1962 squad to register four shutouts in the first half dozen games.
Illinois comes into Saturday's matchup averaging 30.7 points per game, though it's averaging less than 340 total yards per contest.
3. Will this team overlook Illinois at all?
This might be the easiest question to answer, based on covering this 2019 team now since spring ball.
No.
I was talking to two other players I requested, so I was not able to hear this directly, but outside linebacker Zack Baun apparently stated he did not even know what date the upcoming Ohio State game was:
A reporter asked redshirt senior inside linebacker Chris Orr if he has to worry about some of the younger players looking ahead and not focusing in on Illinois
"Nah, nah we're not worried about that," Orr said. "I mean that's kind of been the motto here. We started preaching that in winter workouts. Like I said before, our strength coaches -- we used to get the entire week of workouts -- but it was just one day at a time, one practice at a time, one rep at a time, one week at a time.
"We're not looking too far ahead, just like we were playing South Florida or Central Michigan. We weren't looking towards Michigan or anybody like that. It's the same thought process."
4. Which Illinois quarterback will Wisconsin see on Saturday?
Last week, Michigan transfer Brandon Peters did not play against his former program due to injury, so redshirt freshman Matt Robinson stepped in and completed 16-of-25 passes for 192 yards with one touchdown and zero picks -- though he was sacked five times by Wolverines defenders in the 42-25 home loss.
However, as seen from Rivals' site Orange and Blue News, head coach Lovie Smith said earlier this week that Peters is still the team's starting quarterback.
For what it's worth, Illinois averages 146.7 yards per game on the ground, and 190.8 through the air.
5. If Wisconsin wins, what will it take for them to bump up into the top 5?
Ahead of Wisconsin in the AP poll this week includes the following, plus their respective matchup this week:
*No. 1 Alabama (vs. Tennessee)
*No. 2 LSU (at Mississippi State)
*No. 3 Clemson (at Louisville)
*No. 4 Ohio State (at Northwestern)
*No. 5 Oklahoma (vs. West Virginia)
Honestly, all winnable games for these programs. Unless there is a major upset or Wisconsin absolutely blows the roof off of Illinois in Champaign, perhaps my bold prediction a few weeks ago of a top five matchup in Columbus will be a hint too bold.
Of course, the Badgers need to take care of business in Champaign to make this happen.
