As expected, Badgers dispose of Illini

You have to give credit where credit is due. Illinois hung in this one longer than anyone expected. The Illini led Wisconsin after the first quarter Saturday and the game was tied until the 2:14 mark of the second quarter.

But Illinois benefited from starting a pair of scoring possessions in Badger territory. And as expected, the Badgers running game wore the Illinois defense down.

Like Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah and Purdue’s Akeem Hunt in weeks previous, Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon was impressive against the Illinois defense.

Gordon rushed for 146 yards in the first half to give Wisconsin a 24-14 advantage at the break. Four Badgers had runs of more than 20 yards and both Gordon and running mate Corey Clement finished the game with 164 yards on the ground.

It doesn’t matter who’s at quarterback for the Illini because the defense can’t stop an opposing running back or apparently an opposing backup running back.

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Starter Reilly O’Toole wasn’t bad for Illinois in this game. Both touchdown drives O’Toole led were the ones starting in Wisconsin territory, including one that started at the 31-yard line.

O’Toole finished the game 12-for-19 passing for 96 yards and two touchdowns — not thrilling numbers, but he passed the eye test better than he ever has against a Big Ten opponent. He didn’t turn the ball over once.

The biggest problem in his career has been turnovers, and on a day when he didn’t turn it over, his team stayed competitive, at least for a while.

We saw Aaron Bailey for the first time this year late in the second half and he sure looked good. Yes, it was garbage time, but the sophomore rushed for more yards on seven carries during his first possession than running back Josh Ferguson had all day.

Beckman made the right call burning Bailey’s redshirt and getting him some playing time with Wes Lunt injured.

The Illini scored touchdowns on two Bailey-led possessions and pulled Illinois within 10 — making those garbage minutes a little bit more serious.

But it was too little, too late. One wonders what this game might have been like if Bailey played all four quarters. An Illinois win? Doubtful. It might have made things interesting, though.

There are more positives to take away from this game than the loss to Purdue a week ago.

It still says a lot about the state of your football program when fans are celebrating on social media because you hung with Wisconsin for half a game.

What does Illinois do from here? The positive signs in Madison come just two weeks before a game against a beatable opponent at home.

I’m not expecting a win over Minnesota, even with a bye next week. To say you’d expect Illinois to win any games from here on out is a too strong of verbiage.

If you thought Illinois could beat Wisconsin, you were fooling yourself. If you think Illinois can beat Minnesota, you’re not wrong.

I say Beckman should start Bailey. He looked good when he was in there Saturday and at this point Illinois has nothing to lose.

Sean is a senior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @sean_hammond.