And it was momentum that Illinois would fail to regain in a 38-28 loss at Wisconsin.

With less than three minutes to go in the second half, the Illini decided to go for it on fourth down on Wisconsin’s 36-yard line. The Illini failed to convert on a Josh Ferguson run and the Badgers would go on to score 24 unanswered points.

“That fourth down turned the whole game around, switched the momentum,” quarterback Reilly O’Toole said. “We needed to convert on that. I mean, I should have pulled the ball. And Josh just kind of got hit in the backfield. It was on me. It’s unfortunate, it’s a big play in the game. You can’t have those mistakes.”

While O’Toole carried the team in the first quarter, briefly giving the Illini the lead, that play saw the end of O’Toole’s success.

He was sacked four times, throwing 12-for-19 for 96 yards and two touchdowns.

Sophomore Aaron Bailey was called into the game in the fourth and rushed for a first down on his first play of the season. Bailey went 2-for-5 passing with one interception and 39 passing yards. He led the Ilini in rushing with 75 yards on 12 carries and one touchdown, all in the fourth quarter.

“There were no butterflies or anything,” Bailey said on his first time playing this year. “More tired than anything, think I need to get on treadmill or something.”

While both quarterbacks played, coaches failed to clarify who would be starting in the coming weeks, even highlighting the possibility of a dual quarterback system.

Head coach Tim Beckman stressed that Bailey would be ready to start, but there will still be a competition during practices.

“Really, I thought both of them played good,” Beckman said. “But again we didn’t win the football game so it’s not good enough.”

Illinois’ offensive line struggled, allowing Wisconsin’s defense a season-high six sacks.

For the most part, the Illinois defense contained Wisconsin’s Big Ten-leading rushing attack in the first quarter. But the defense would struggle to stop the run throughout the rest of the game, allowing 401 rushing yards on the afternoon.

Gordon led the Badgers with 27 carries for 178 yards and four touchdowns. He eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards this season in Saturday’s game.

“He’s a great back,” defensive coordinator Tim Banks said. “He’ll be a Sunday guy. I think everyone understands that. And they’ve got a tremendous offensive line.”

Illinois was able to get the fast start that has eluded them this season. But the rest of the game demonstrated Illinois’ need to carry momentum into the second half.

“We had our opportunities,” O’Toole said. “We just didn’t take advantage of them.”