With a crazy week in which Wisconsin's police charges and arrests of players made the news as often as the games and practices themselves, it seems only fitting that the Badgers (1-5 Big Ten, 6-5 overall) played an equally crazy game, falling at home to the Illini 37-20. In a match-up against Illinois (3-3, 4-6) that resulted in seven turnovers, both teams' running backs provided the only stability in the game.
Freshman running back Dwayne Smith of Wisconsin contributed 122 yards and two touchdowns for the Badgers, while senior running back Antoineo Harris had 158 yards. Harris surpassed the 1,000-yard mark, becoming only the sixth Illini rusher in team history to gain more than 1,000 yards in a season.
However, in an offensively sloppy game that Illinois dominated, Smith was one of Wisconsin's few stars. Neither team's starting quarterback, senior Brooks Bollinger of Wisconsin and Illinois junior quarterback Dustin Ward, stepped onto the field and Wisconsin junior Jim Sorgi and Illinois junior Jon Beutjer filled in for their missing teammates.?? Sorgi threw for 162 yards on 13 completions while Beutjer tossed for 319 yards and four touchdowns on 22 completions.
\I played solid,"" Sorgi said. ""I didn't do anything spectacular, I didn't make any mistakes or anything like that. I would have liked to have seen me make a couple more plays to put us in position to score and get more points. Overall, I'm not real happy with the way I played but I'm not real disappointed.""
Beutjer connected with senior wide receiver Greg Lewis on a few key passes, including two touchdown passes in the first half. Beutjer threw a 36-yard pass to Lewis for Illinois' first touchdown with just under three minutes left in the first quarter, giving the Illini a lead they maintained for the rest of the game. The referees ruled the pass a touchdown, although it was slightly controversial because Lewis' foot may have landed out of bounds.
""I understand that in the replay shown, he was way out,"" Wisconsin Head Coach Barry Alvarez said.
Wisconsin finally answered Illinois' touchdown with one of its own in the second half. With Illinois up 17-3, sophomore defensive back Jim Leonhard forced senior wide receiver Walter Young to fumble and junior linebacker Alex Lewis ran it 52 yards down to the Illinois six-yard line. Smith ran the ball into the end zone for the touchdown.
Turnovers by Illinois seemed to be the only way the Badgers got into scoring position, as they scored only one field goal in the first quarter.
Wisconsin closed the point gap to four when Leonhard intercepted Beutjer's pass, resulting in a field goal by UW sophomore placekicker Mike Allen a few minutes later. The Badgers scored only once more, after Leonhard intercepted a Beutjer pass and returned it for 55 yards to the Illinois 10-yard line.
Smith ran it into the end zone a few plays later. Smith contributed on the field but he said that to him, his efforts did not matter as much without the win.
""I think I did all right. Basically, to be honest, individual stuff really doesn't matter. We wanted to come out with a win and that was the main thing and that didn't happen,"" Smith said.
While Wisconsin capitalized on turnovers, Illinois relied on the capability of Beutjer and the receiving corps of Lewis and freshman tight end John Young, as well as Harris, to carry the Illini to victory. Young had 114 yards in receiving, including a 22-yard pass that resulted in an Illinois touchdown late in the first half.
Although Wisconsin, which sits one game away from becoming eligible for a postseason bowl game, has seen its chances dashed with each loss, it still hopes to continue practicing in December.
""We're still alive, we have a chance to be bowl eligible, we still have some things to play for,"" Alvarez said. ""My main concern right now is to make sure [to] patch our team up and make sure we play better.\
