Injuries to Arrelious Benn and Juice Williams threatened to damper the Illini’s first victory against a top-five opponent since 1989, but head coach Ron Zook said after the game that both players could have returned to the field and are fine.

Williams left the game in the fourth quarter with a hyper-extended knee.

“I should be fine,” Williams said. “I should be able to play next week. I don’t think I got touched on the run, I just went down on it.”

Williams completed 12 of 19 passes for 121 yards and rushed for 92 more to lead the Illini to their fifth straight victory.

Benn caught five passes for a team-high 51 yards and returned two kicks for an average of 21.5 yards before leaving the game after irritating his shoulder trying to use a stiff arm. It was the same shoulder injured in preseason practice.

“I didn’t want to put him back in unless we had to,” Zook said. “He’s going to have to learn to stop stiff-arming.”

Defense picks time to shine

It was another Big Ten victory and another week of the Illini forcing late turnovers.

For the third straight week the Illini secondary came through with second-half interceptions to help stop an opponent’s rally. Cornerback Vontae Davis and safety Kevin Mitchell picked off Wisconsin’s Tyler Donovan in the fourth quarter.

Mitchell snagged the pass at the Illinois 16-yard line and Davis’ third interception in as many weeks came in front of the Wisconsin bench on the Illinois 29-yard line.

“They ran the play twice,” Davis said. “The first time they caught it. To be a good defensive back you can’t really run the same play over and over again because I know what you are doing.”

The Illini defense allowed a season-high 519 yards and 28 first downs but stopped the Badgers in the fourth quarter on all but one drive.

“We’re making good strides,” Davis said. “But we also know how good we are and we can play much better. Every practice we got to get better and better.”

Juice to McGee to victory

Credit the victory to Williams, but give the save to freshman quarterback Eddie McGee.

After Williams left the game, McGee took the reins and closed out the Badgers with a five-yard keeper with 5:19 remaining to extend the lead to 31-19.

It was the second straight win McGee closed out against a ranked opponent. This week, McGee converted a fourth-and-1 play to seal the victory.

“We help each other out so much throughout the week,” Williams said. “And we do the same thing out on the field. Eddie could be the starter if he had to be. Knowing he’s behind me just gives me so much more confidence.”