• Wisconsin defeated Illinois 27-10, holding the Illini to a season-low point total.
• Outside linebacker Darryl Peterson recorded three sacks, the most by a Badgers player in a single game since 2021.
• Despite the win, Wisconsin’s quarterback was sacked five times and the team incurred a costly personal foul penalty.

MADISON – A look back at Wisconsin’s 27-10 victory over Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 22, at Camp Randall Stadium.

Big picture

Playing the nation’s toughest schedule appears to have made the Badgers a tougher team. Wisconsin entered play assured of a second straight sub .500 season and Illinois was ranked in the College Football Playoff top 25, but pretty much from start to finish the Badgers showed they were the better team.  They never trailed and held Illinois to what tied its season-low point total. The Illini’s 298 total yards were also third-lowest behind Indiana (161) and Ohio State (295).

Turning point: Darrion Dupree breaks loose, gives UW a cushion

There was still almost two whole quarters left to play when sophomore Darrion Dupree broke loose for an 84-yard touchdown run that, after the extra point, pushed the Badgers advantage to 17-7.

Besides putting a jolt into the crowd the score gave a Wisconsin team that doesn’t have much room for error a two-score lead. The Badgers went 80 yards for a touchdown on their first possession and closed the half with a field goal, but this was the first point in the night they had control of the game.

Thumbs up: Dupree gets a lot of help on TD run

• It took a lot of blocks to pave the way for Dupree’s 84-yard TD run. Tight end Tucker Ashcraft started things with a block out of the backfield and center Davis Heinzen and guards Joe Brunner and Kerry Kodanko created space up the middle.
• Another gem from Dupree’s run: Receiver Eugene Hilton fooled Illinois cornerback Torrie Cox Jr. into thinking a pass was thrown his way and ran his defender off the play. It’s the main reason there was no one downfield to challenge Dupree at the end of the run.
• Wisconsin fumbled three times but didn’t lose any of them. The biggest recovery was made by Ashcraft, who covered the ball after a 6-yard gain by freshman quarterback Carter Smith on the Badgers’ first drive. That possession ended up going 80 yards for a touchdown.
• Graduate outside linebacker Darryl Peterson finished with three sacks, raising his career-best in that statistic for the second straight week. The last Badgers with three sacks in a game was Nick Herbig in 2021.

Box score | UW schedule | Standings

Thumbs down: UW gets hit with personal fouls, takes unnecessary sacks

• Tyrese Fearbry was hit with a personal foul penalty in the fourth quarter that allowed Illinois to start possession at its 40-yard line.
• Smith was sacked five times, but two of those came when he ran out of bounds on a scramble rather than throwing ball away.

More: Wisconsin’s win over Illinois shows Carter Smith’s growth, Hunter Simmons’ role

Wisconsin football schedule: The Badgers travel to Minnesota in battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe on Nov. 29

The trophy cases are bare for the Badgers, but they can fix that next Saturday in Minneapolis. Wisconsin has lost three of the last four meetings to the Gophers, including a 24-7 loss last season that guaranteed UW a losing season. Minnesota (6-5, 4-4) has lost two straight and three of its last four.