All Badgers

Wisconsin cruises over Illinois State 38-0

The Wisconsin Badgers start their season with a 38-point win over Illinois State inside Camp Randall Stadium.

Matt Belz

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Entering their season-opening game against Illinois State (FCS) as a heavy favorite, the Wisconsin Badgers did not disappoint on Saturday night. 

The Badgers would take care of the Redbirds 38-0 to improve to 1-0 on the season. 

Contents

  1. Game Recap
  2. Players of the game
  3. Photos of the Game
  4. Up next

Game Recap

The Badgers came out of the gates a bit sloppy in the first quarter. On offense, Wisconsin had an easy opportunity to get a first down, but Markus Allen dropped a wide-open pass from Graham Mertz that would have gone for more than 15 yards. As a result, the Badgers were forced to punt the ball away. 

Illinois State was able to take advantage of a pair of post-play penalties to get into the red zone against Wisconsin. However, senior safety John Torchio would intercept the ball in the end zone and return it 100-yards for a touchdown to give the Badgers a 7-0 lead. The interception return was the longest in program history. 

After holding Illinois State to a punt, the Badgers would quickly light up the scoreboard once again on their next offensive series. Braelon Allen broke a tackle and proceeded to go 96 yards for another Wisconsin touchdown to give the Badgers a 14-0 lead. The touchdown run was the longest in program history, breaking James White's previous record of 93 yards. 

Wisconsin would proceed to hold Illinois State to a punt on the following series. A run first-down run by Chez Mellusi and several completions by Graham Mertz would get the Badgers into the red zone on the next drive, but Wisconsin would ultimately settle for a 28-yard field goal. Mertz was sacked off his blind side, forcing Vito Calvaruso to attempt the short kick and give the Badgers a 17-0 lead. 

Illinois State would get back into Wisconsin territory late in the second quarter, but Semar Melvin made a great pass breakup to give the ball back with under a minute left before the half. After another completion to Markus Allen from Mertz, Wisconsin would let the clock run out because of another sack. 

Receiving the second-half kickoff, Wisconsin running back Isaac Guerendo had a beautiful 33-yard return to give the Badgers great field position. Wisconsin would put together a very balanced scoring drive with a solid mixture of runs (a 24-yard rush by Braelon Allen specifically) and some timely throws from Mertz to eventually take a 24-0 lead on a short Allen touchdown run. 

The Badgers would get the ball back in short order and march down the field 93-yards for another touchdown drive. Graham Mertz found Chimere Dike for a 74-yard reception and then connected with Dike for a 16-yard touchdown to give Wisconsin a 31-point advantage in the latter stages of the third quarter. 

Wisconsin would string together a 76-yard drive on the following series with a short touchdown rush by Isaac Guerendo to take a 38-0 lead. 

An interception by backup safety Preston Zachman would give the Badgers the ball back quickly, but Wisconsin's second-team offense was unable to move the ball and would punt the ball back to Illinois State. 

Ultimately Wisconsin would hand the ball to Julius Davis to salt the game away and finish with a 38-0 win over the Redbirds. 

You can check out our rolling thread from during the game here. 

Players of the game

  • John Torchio (S) - Wisconsin

Senior safety John Torchio had himself a game. Nicknamed the jewelry thief by his teammates, Torchio had a program record 100-yard interception return for a touchdown and also finished the game with three tackles and a sack. 

  • Braelon Allen (RB) - Wisconsin

Braelon Allen had an efficient performance against Illinois State. The sophomore ran for 148 yards on only 14 carries with two touchdowns. His program-record 96-yard run was the most notable carry of the day, but overall it was another stellar performance for Allen. 

  • Nick Herbig (OLB) - Wisconsin

Junior outside linebacker Nick Herbig led the Badgers with two sacks on the day. He finished with four total tackles and was dominant off the edge for Wisconsin. 

  • Graham Mertz (QB - Wisconsin

The most exciting development for Wisconsin fans has to be the play of quarterback Graham Mertz. The junior signal-caller was poised and accurate all day long. He wound up throwing for 219 yards and a touchdown. He was nearly perfect on the day, going 14-of-16 (88%), with one of the incompletions being a drop by Markus Allen. Much of Wisconsin's season rides on how Mertz plays this year, and Saturday was a great start for him. 

Photos of the Game

Wisconsin RB Braelon Allen / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Braelon Allen points to the sky to honor Gary Brown after a 96-yard rushing touchdown. 

Wisconsin safety John Torchio / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Senior safety John Torchio returns an interception 100 yards for a touchdown. 

Wisconsin making an entrance / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The Wisconsin Badgers football team running out of the tunnel before their contest with Illinois State. 

Wisconsin NT Keeanu Benton / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Badgers defensive lineman Keeanu Benton celebrates a big play for the defense. 

Up next

Wisconsin will welcome Washington State next Saturday, September 10, to Camp Randall Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CST and the game will be aired on FOX. The stadium will hold a stripe-out. 

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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