Illinois headed into Madison, Wis., with a full head of steam, hoping to take down a historically dominant Wisconsin program that has won all but one game against Illinois since 2008. Head coach Bret Bielema, who led the Wisconsin program for seven years before heading to Arkansas, was hoping to make his statement win over a program which he led to three consecutive Rose Bowl appearances.

Wisconsin elected to receive after the coin toss, gaining strong field position after returner Isaac Guerendo got his team to the 46-yard line. Badgers quarterback Graham Mertz moved his team down the sideline, his drive ending on a 21-yard touchdown to Guerendo. 

On the ensuing Illini drive, quarterback Tommy DeVito completed a few mid-range passes to get his team down the field but stalled out at the 38-yard line. Punter Hugh Robertson came out on the field, placing the opposing offense on the 3-yard line.

The field position would pay dividends as Mertz threw a pick to Kendall Smith, trying to get his team out of a precarious position. The Illinois offense took advantage of Mertz’s mistake, going down to the 6-yard line. However, running back Chase Brown was unable to get into the endzone on three attempts. Illinois went for it on fourth down, with their first attempt drawing a pass interference call on Wisconsin. DeVito would take Illinois’ drive into his own hands, sneaking across the goal line to equalize the score at the start of a physical game for both sides.

Early on, the Illinois defensive line placed minimal pressure on Mertz, who had time to make his reads and safe passes to receivers and move down the field. Meanwhile, Allen, a future superstar for Wisconsin because of his speed and physicality, started slowly gaining zero yards on six attempts by the end of the first quarter. The ineffective plays by the Badgers ended their drive with a field goal from 39 yards.

After an Illinois three-and-out, defensive coordinator Ryan Walters called on his defense to come in clutch. However, after a great catch by Wisconsin’s Keontez Lewis, Wisconsin found some momentum in the passing game. The Illini defensive line stepped up, causing Mertz to panic with pressure, leading to an errant pass and pick by Taz Nicholson. With the help of Brown running for 18 yards down the field and another pass interference call against Wisconsin, Illinois found themselves on the Wisconsin 14-yard line. After multiple flags for both sides on different plays, the teams shuffled around the red zone, with the drive ending in another DeVito sneak and touchdown, giving Illinois their first lead of the game.

By halftime, Illinois’ defense had managed to stop Allen, one of the most dynamic running backs in college football, capitalizing on defensive interceptions to get points on the board. The Illinois offense was unable to generate points on their own, relying on favorable field position by the defense to stumble into the end zone.

“I knew if we wanted to have a chance, we couldn’t let them run the football on us like they did a year ago,” Bielema said. “Ryan Walters from last year at the end of the season to where we are today, I bet you there wasn’t a day gone by where he hasn’t watched that film from a year ago.”

Starting the second half with the ball, Illinois began building momentum down the field. With a failed third down conversion moving it to fourth, Illinois elected to take the risk, completing a 6-yard pass to Williams. Illinois, escaping a punt, took another shot downfield to tight end Michael Marchese to the three-yard line. Two plays later, DeVito called his number for the third time, putting Illinois up 10 points on the opening second-half drive.

With Illinois comfortably creating separation against Wisconsin, the ensuing kickoff spelled disaster for Wisconsin as the special teams gave the ball right back to Illinois at the Wisconsin 16-yard line off a muffed kickoff catch by Guerendo. Despite the momentum, Illinois was unable to find the endzone, sending kicker Caleb Griffin for a 44-yard field goal. With the kick making it through the uprights, unease spread in Madison as the Illini held 17 unanswered points over the Badgers. The potential for Illinois’ first win at Camp Randall in 20 years began to seem like a possibility.

“It’s one thing to get turnovers, but get points off of them,” Bielema said. “We talk a lot about complementary football. We took that opening drive and went and when they fumbled the kickoff our guys are literally grabbing their helmets yelling, ‘Points, points, points, points.’ They knew they were given a moment there we need to get points out of.”

After Wisconsin’s third punt of the day, Illinois looked to put the game away. Brown made sure to put the nail in the coffin, breaking away for 49 yards and a touchdown on the fourth play of the drive. With a comfortable 21-point lead midway through the third quarter, it was Illinois’ game to lose.

Later, Griffin would knock in another three points, adding salt to the wound of every Wisconsin supporter in the stadium.

Brown would complete his fifth consecutive game with 100+ yards, collecting 129 yards on the ground on 25 attempts against a highly respected Wisconsin defense. DeVito finished with a 133.5 passer rating with 167 yards on 24 passing attempts.

The Illinois defense, despite the daunting nature of Big Ten play, made sure that the nation knew of their potential, holding Wisconsin to 59 yards of total offense throughout the entire second half, allowing zero points. Bielema and his team found a way to orchestrate a statement win in a deafening environment ahead of a potentially successful 2022 football season.

“To come here and be able to play the way that we did, to me it’s a sign of respect back to Madison,” Bielema said. “I’m proud of what we built at Illinois and what we could show today.”

Illinois (4-1) returns home, with the most momentum they’ve had in years, to host the Iowa Hawkeyes on Oct. 8.

“During my time here at Wisconsin, there were times when I was a head coach here we were recruiting and we’d be going after an Illinois kid and we wouldn’t be battling Illinois. I would say, ‘Why aren’t they … ’ It just didn’t make sense to me that they weren’t considering them more,” Bielema said. “When Josh called we kicked it into overdrive and we haven’t let off the gas yet.”

A massive win over such an influential and consistent Midwest rival provides an argument for Illinois in recruiting. With the tables turning in the Big Ten West, Bielema wants to reestablish Illinois for years to come.

“The moment we have right now, I can’t wait because we have two phone calls that I have saved for today because I thought we would win and I get to make those on the bus ride,” Bielema said.

“There’s a lot of fun stuff that’s happening and I can’t wait to do more.”

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@JonathanAlday7