The Wisconsin Badgers had a thrilling 27-10 win over the No. 21 Illinois Fighting Illini, marking their second win over a ranked opponent this month.
It was their best win of the season as the Badgers controlled
the game from start to finish before really pulling away in the fourth quarter.
The defense was at the forefront of the action, sacking Luke Altmyer five times, while shutting down the run game and making some big stops.
Three of those sacks came from one player, outside linebacker Darryl Peterson, who also had 2.5 sacks against the Indiana Hoosiers the week before.
Peterson has really come to life as a pass-rusher this season, finding success rushing from the interior, and his hard work has been rewarded in the past two weeks.
Not only was Peterson the team’s defensive player of the week, but he was also named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.
Peterson finished the game with six tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble in his final game at Camp Randall Stadium, marking a night to remember. Speaking with the outside linebacker earlier in the week, he noted how the big win over the Washington Huskies two weeks ago was his favorite moment as a Badger. Now, he may have a new one.
Peterson is now the 2nd Big Ten player this season to record 3 sacks in a game, joining Ohio State’s Caden Curry, and the first to notch 3 sacks and a forced fumble. Additionally, a Badger has now won the award in two of the last three weeks with Cooper Catalano securing the honor for his performance in Wisconsin’s win over No. 23 Washington.
It marks the first time the Badgers have had two Big Ten Defensive Players of the Week in a single season since 2022, when Kamo’i Latu and John Torchio both won the award, according to UW.
