Wisconsin Football v. Illinois: 9 Things to Watch For

With the Wisconsin Football team set to take on Illinois this Friday night, here are nine things to watch for as the game unfolds.

We’ve just about made it Badger fans! After it looking like we weren’t going to have any Big Ten football this fall, on Friday night, Wisconsin will host Illinois under the lights of Camp Randall.

Last season when these two teams met down in Champaign, the Illini pulled off the upset and all but crushed any hopes that the Badgers had at making a run at the College Football Playoffs. Now the Badgers will look to exact revenge and get the 2020 season off on the right foot. But before we get to kickoff, here are nine things that I’ll be watching for in the Badgers’ season opener with the Illini.

Wisconsin Turnovers

A big contributor to Wisconsin’s loss to Illinois in 2019 was the turnovers. The Badgers would put the ball on the ground twice, and Jack Coan would also throw an interception. This was a common occurrence for Illinois’ opponents last season as the Illini finished 2019 with 2.2 turnovers per game, ranking fourth in the NCAA, and their 1.2 fumbles per game ranked third.

Leading up to this game, Wisconsin Badgers’ offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph has talked about Illinois’ ability to force turnovers and the way their tacklers put helmets on the ball, and also the way they swarm when the ball is on the ground. Winning the turnover battle is always going to a major key to victory, but it rings especially true this week against the Illini.

Illinois WR Josh Imatorbhebhe

Last season, Josh Imatrobhebhe was the leading receiver on this Illinois team. The big-play threat totaled 634 receiving yards at a whopping 19.2 yards per catch with nine touchdowns. Against Wisconsin, he had only two receptions, but they went for 42 yards and a touchdown.

The Badgers have a stout and deep secondary that will be prepared for Imatorbhebhe, but he will likely be a top target of quarterback Brandon Peters’ and a big part of the Illinois’ game plan.

Limit big plays

Uncharacteristically against Illinois in 2019, the Wisconsin defense gave up quite a few chunk plays to this offense. Illinois had touchdown passes of 29 and 48 yards, respectively. Along with a touchdown run by Reggie Corbin – now graduated – of 43 yards. Brandon Peters would also complete two other passes of 18 and 19 yards while Dre Brown had a 22 yard run of his own.

If the Illini are going to put points on the board, make them earn it with a long sustaining drive.

The Illinois run game

As I just mentioned, Reggie Corbin is gone, as is Dre Brown, so now the Illini will be relying on Mike Epstein. This is a very experienced Illinois offensive line; however, their numbers in the run game last season weren’t very impressive. Illinois backs averaged only 3.8 yards per carry, which ranked 100th in the country, while their 144.4 rushing yards per game ranked 88th.

The Illini offensive line will be up against what is also an experienced Badgers’ defensive line led by Isaiahh Loudermilk and Garrett Rand, and if they can slow the Illinois rushing attack, thus making the offense one-dimensional, life for Brandon Peters against this Wisconsin secondary is going to be tough.

Who steps up at WR?

Quintez Cephus, Jack Coan’s favorite and most trusted target in 2019, is now in the NFL, so that begs the question, who will step up as WR1 in 2020? The Likely candidates are Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor, who combined for 67 targets, 528 yards, and one touchdown last season. Jack Dunn and Adam Krumholz will get their share of opportunities as well, and a player to watch is true freshman Chimere Dike, who has impressed since stepping on campus.

Illinois LB Jake Hansen

This high-flying, turnover producing Illinois defense all starts with linebacker Jake Hansen. In 2019, Hanson totaled 71 tackles, including 7.5 for a loss, along with three sacks and an interception. He also led all of college football with seven forced fumbles and was Pro Football Focus’ ($) 35th highest-graded linebacker in the entire country. Whether running the ball or passing, this Badger offense has to know where Hansen is at all times.

Garrett Groshek and Nakia Watson

Just as the receiver room will have to replace Cephus’ production, the running back room will have to do the same with Jonathan Taylor, although that’s a lofty goal to achieve. While we shouldn’t expect the duo of Groshek and Watson to rush for over 2,000 yards as Taylor did in back-to-back seasons, they can both still be quite effective in Wisconsin’s power running scheme behind what could very well be one of the nation’s best offensive line units once again.

Over his three year career, Groshek has 168 rushing attempts while averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Watson, in 2019, averaged 4.5 yards per carry on 74 attempts.

The Badger Linebackers

Chris Orr and Zack Baun are in the NFL, leaving Wisconsin with some holes to fill at the linebacker position. The good news is that Jack Sanborn, the team’s leading tackler from 2019, will still be around to wreak havoc, but the Badger defense will need others to step up around him.

Based on the depth chart, Leo Chenal and Mike Maskalunas will see much more playing time this year at ILB after working in reserve roles last season. While at OLB, Noah Burks is back, and either Izayah Green-May or true freshman Nick Herbig will assume the role of OLB2.

As Jim Leonhard pointed out, no one should expect any of the players mentioned above to step in and replace Orr or Baun’s production. That’s just not realistic. However, the Badgers have several players that Leonhard feels can be dynamic and productive. But the big question is, in addition to Jack Sanborn, who will it be?

Graham Mertz

I imagine Graham Mertz is at the top of everyone’s ‘what to watch for’ list as well. The red-shirt freshman is the highest-rated quarterback prospect in program history and is expected by many to be the player that can take this Wisconsin Football team to the College Football Playoffs.

Like everyone else, I cannot wait to see him in action, however, expectations should be tempered a bit. This is still his first start at the collegiate level, and it has been an unusual offseason. The Badger offensive line can be Mertz’ best friend on Friday night by establishing the run, which will take some of the burden off of his shoulders, and by also giving him time in the pocket.

As expected, Paul Chryst has mentioned that Mertz has handled this entire process beautifully, and that’s he had an excellent week of practice and preparation. Now, after over a year of waiting, let’s see what Graham Mertz can do as the starter.