Wisconsin Football: 5 Illinois Players to Keep Your Eyes On

This Saturday the Wisconsin Football team will take on Illinois and these are five players from the Illini to familiarize yourself with before the two teams take the field.

The Wisconsin Football team just keeps rolling along this season as they sit at 6-0 and are now ranked number six in the nation. Behind the stout defense that has pitched four shutouts in six games, an efficient Jack Coan, and of course, Jonathan Taylor, the Badgers have been one of the most dominant teams in the country this season.

Meanwhile, for Illinois, they continue to struggle under head coach Lovie Smith. Currently, they sit at 2-4 on the year and 0-3 in the Big Ten. This is a matchup that Wisconsin has dominated for a number of years now and truthfully they should win this game by multiple scores as well.

However, with Ohio State on the schedule next week, this is a game that Wisconsin cannot overlook or they may end up in a much closer ball game than what they should. But before the two teams take the field on Saturday, these are a handful of Illinois players to familiarize yourself with and to keep your eyes on when the game begins.

Reggie Corbin – RB

The Illinois passing game has been limited but running back Reggie Corbin has been a very good option out of the backfield for this offense. In 2018 he would eclipse the 1,000-yard mark and did so with an impressive average of 8.5 yards per carry. He would also score nine times.

While this season his numbers aren’t as eye-popping, Corbin is still averaging 5.9 yards per carry along with three touchdowns. At least early on, we should expect a heavy dose of Corbin in the running game, but Corbin is yet to face a run defense as smothering as Wisconsin’s.

Oluwole Betiku – DE

The former 5-star high school recruit and graduate transfer from USC has been everything that the Illini faithful could have hoped for. This season, Oluwole Betiku has seven sacks, which is the fourth most in the country, while also totaling 10.5 tackles for loss.

The Wisconsin offensive line is almost like an impenetrable force at times, but when Jack Coan drops back to pass, he could feel some heat from Betiku who is a likely NFL draft pick in April.

Josh Imatorbhebhe – WR

Another transfer from USC, Josh Imatorbhebhe has been the top target in the Illinois passing game, totaling 22 receptions for 322 yards and a whopping 16.1 yards per catch with five touchdowns. Imatorbhebhe gives the Illini that big-play threat but as I mentioned above, they’ve had issues in the passing game and the Wisconsin defense will make getting him the ball quite difficult.

Brandon Peters & Matt Robinson – QB

Both quarterbacks are listed because as of this moment, we do not know who the starter will be. Brandon Peters is a transfer from Michigan but missed last week’s game with a concussion. Prior to his injury, Peters had completed just 58.7 percent of his passes for 797 yards with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions.

With Peters out, redshirt freshman Matt Robinson took over and put together a decent game against Michigan. He would finish the game 16/25 for 192 and a touchdown. Over their careers, neither quarterback has been very efficient at passing the ball and pressure from the Wisconsin front-seven will likely lead to some mistakes that this opportunistic defense will be able to take advantage of.

Jake Hansen & Dele Harding – LB

We couldn’t discuss just one of these linebackers, we had to list both. One of the bright spots on the Illinois football team this season has been their ability to create turnovers, and two big contributors to that are linebackers, Jake Hansen and Dele Harding.

On the season, the Illini have forced 14 turnovers, 10 of which have been fumbles. Hansen and Harding have combined to force four of those fumbles this season and have three of the team’s four interceptions. The duo has also totaled over 100 tackles, 10.5 of which have been for a loss and 2.5 sacks as well.

Hansen and Harding are ball hawks that fly all over the field making plays. It is going to be crucial that the Badgers focus on ball security this week with these two on the opposing defense.