Illinois players don’t need lectures or history lessons. They know what could happen to their program if they can defeat fifth-ranked Wisconsin on Saturday.
“This is a game a lot of us have been waiting for,” senior safety Justin Sanders said. “This is a chance to let everyone know this program is going in a totally different direction.
“Because it’s Wisconsin, No. 5 team in the country on the national stage, a chance for us to go out there and play like we can — if we play like we can we’ll give them all they can handle.”
Wisconsin comes into the game with the longest winning streak in the nation at 14.
The Illini have won four straight since an opening loss to Missouri in St. Louis.
A second consecutive sellout crowd of 57,058 is expected at Memorial Stadium to see a game that could vault the Illini into the Top 25 for the first time since 2001.
In Madison, they have noticed the growing Illini confidence.
“Those kids are riding an emotional wave,” Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said. “They were beat out of the gate by Missouri but have played very well at times to get where they are right now.”
That’s with a chance to stay in first place in the Big Ten and move within one victory of bowl eligibility.
The winner will have a leg up in the Big Ten race, the loser will be in trouble. Both have Ohio State and Michigan remaining on their schedules.
“It can put us on the national scene,” linebacker Antonio Steele said.
That’s where the hard part comes in. Stopping Wisconsin involves containing running back P.J. Hill, a 5-foot-11-inch, 227-pound load who is sixth in the nation in rushing at 133.4 yards per game. Only a sophomore, he already has 24 career rushing touchdowns.
“We have to wrap him up,” Sanders said.
“We told [our defense] they better put the big-boy pads on,” Illinois coach Ron Zook said. “Their smallest offensive lineman is 304 [pounds]. The sun will go away when they stand up. In the fourth quarter they have outscored opponents 69-39. They will play ball control and grind ’em out. It’s important to get them in third-and-long to get them off the field.”
Forcing Wisconsin to throw isn’t necessarily the answer, thanks to senior quarterback Tyler Donovan, who has proven to be a worthy successor to John Stocco. The Badgers have gone 7-0 in games Donovan has started. In those games, he has completed 62.2 percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions.
“They’re better than they were last year,” Zook said. “I was hoping losing the quarterback [would hurt], but [Donovan] has done a great job.”
If the Badgers’ have an Achilles’ heel, it’s their defense. Wisconsin is ninth in the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing 22.4 points per game, and eighth in total defense, allowing 360.6 yards.
In last week’s 37-34 home victory over Michigan State, the Badgers allowed five big plays totaling 250 yards.
“Those five plays need to be a huge learning experience,” Bielema said.
Illinois believes it learned some lessons last year in Madison. The Illini led 24-10 at halftime only to lose 30-24.
This year, Illinois has held off opponents trying to make a charge at the end, notably Indiana and Penn State in the first two Big Ten games.
“We knew we could compete with Big Ten’s best,” linebacker J Leman said. “We also knew we had problems finishing. Last week (the 27-20 victory over Penn State) is good example of finishing.”
With a victory Saturday, the Illini can tell their fans they are just getting started.
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tabannon@tribune.com
