Badger of Honor
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Wisconsin Football: Badgers open vs. Illinois on Friday night

By Christian Borman

Oct 19, 2019; Champaign, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Brandon Peters (18) is sacked by Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Zack Baun (56) during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY Sports
Oct 19, 2019; Champaign, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Brandon Peters (18) is sacked by Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Zack Baun (56) during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY Sports /
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Wisconsin football will open their season under the Friday night lights.

Wisconsin football will be here sooner than we originally thought. Well, a day earlier. The Badgers will open their 2020 season at home against Illinois on Friday, October 23rd at 7:00 PM on the Big Ten Network (BTN).

The Badgers will be looking for some revenge after Illinois handed the then-undefeated Wisconsin football team their first loss in the 2019 campaign, virtually ending their chance at a College Football Playoff appearance.

Wisconsin made the announcement on Monday morning via their twitter page.

Night games are awesome at Camp Randall. The only problem is there won’t be any fans. Initially, they were going to let 1,500 family members and staff in for the games, but now that isn’t going to happen either. From the Superior Telegram:

"For Badgers games, the University of Wisconsin-Madison initially planned to allow about 1,500 people to attend games, mostly the families of players and staff. But Chancellor Rebecca Blank announced Wednesday, Oct. 7, that plans have changed.Only essential personnel will be allowed in Camp Randall Stadium when the Badgers kick off against the University of Illinois later this month, due to the growing number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations across the state.“We’re asking fans in Madison to follow public health guidelines and avoid gatherings with anyone outside their household,” Blank said in a statement. “We’re asking our fans around the state to watch the games at home.”Tailgating, loitering and open containers won’t be allowed on game day, according to a news release from the university. Campus parking lots will be closed to everyone except UW-Madison employees using them for work purposes."

Even though there won’t be fans in the stands at Camp Randall, no ‘Build Me Up Buttercup,” or worst of all, no ‘Jump Around,” there will still be Wisconsin football on the field. For that, I think we should all be thankful.