The Wisconsin Badgers have their final home game of the year on Saturday, taking on the No. 21 Illinois Fighting Illini in primetime.
Wisconsin is coming off a 31-7 loss to Indiana that turned ugly after a 10-7 game at halftime. The Badgers defense fought hard, sacking Fernando Mendoza five times, but Indiana’s passing attack broke open with explosive plays as Mendoza finished with 299 yards and four touchdowns on 22/24 passing.
The Badgers offense remained a question mark, as the passing game is still
developing behind true freshman quarterback Carter Smith. The run game suffered a hit with Gideon Ituka suffering a scary injury that required him to be carted off the field. That will be the biggest question against Illinois.
The Fighting Illini are 7-3 coming off back-to-back wins over Rutgers and Maryland. They’ve been a competitive team all year long, with losses to No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, and Washington, while beating USC.
They have a chance at back-to-back nine-win seasons, and will look for their offense to lead the way.
OUT
RB Dilin Jones
QB Billy Edwards
RB Gideon Ituka
WR Joseph Griffin Jr.
S Matthew Traynor
S Preston Zachman
QB Danny O’Neil
S Owen Arnett
OLB Evan Van Dyn Hoven
OL Kevin Heywood
OL Jake Renfro
OL Leyton Nelson
OL Barrett Nelson
TE Ben Lemirand
DL Torin Pettaway
Wisconsin will be without Gideon Ituka, so Darrion Dupree and Cade Yacamelli should be the lead backs for the Badgers.
Apart from that, there aren’t any other surprises on the injury report, with Carter Smith making his second career start.
Check out all of our gameday stories ahead of the game!
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