Badger of Honor
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Wisconsin football: Badgers eye revenge vs. Fighting Illini

By Christian Borman

Oct 19, 2019; Champaign, IL, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Garrett Groshek (37) runs the ball against the Illinois Fighting Illini during a game at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 19, 2019; Champaign, IL, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Garrett Groshek (37) runs the ball against the Illinois Fighting Illini during a game at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 19, 2019; Champaign, IL, USA; llinois Fighting Illini wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe (9) celebrates a touchdown with wide receiver Casey Washington (8) and wide receiver Donny Navarro (86) during a game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 19, 2019; Champaign, IL, USA; llinois Fighting Illini wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe (9) celebrates a touchdown with wide receiver Casey Washington (8) and wide receiver Donny Navarro (86) during a game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

Illinois

Offense

This Illinois offense is led by graduate quarterback, Brandon Peters, who quietly had a nice 2019 season. He threw for 1,884 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions in just 11 games with the Illini. When Illinois beat Wisconsin last season, Peters wasn’t very efficient. He completed less than 50% of his passes, but he didn’t turn it over. He threw for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns without an interception.

On the ground, Illinois has to replace Reggie Corbin and Dre Brown, who combined for 153 yards and a touchdown against the Badgers last season. Together, they ran for over 1,200 yards and scored 12 touchdowns on the ground. That’s a lot of production for them to replace. They are going to depend on Mike Epstein and transfer Chase Brown to carry them on the ground.

At the receiver position, their big playmaker is Josh Imatorbhebhe. Imatorbhebhe had only two catches against the Badgers last year, but one was a 29-yard touchdown reception to bring Illinois within two points in the fourth quarter, which eventually led to the game-winning field goal for Illinois. Last season, Imatorbhebhe had 634 yards and nine touchdowns for the Illini last season. He is a huge part of their offense.

Defense

This defense gave up over 400 yards per game last season. They allowed 196.5 yards per game on the ground and 212 through the air. Now add in the fact that they lost their leading tackler in linebacker Dele Harding, who had 149 tackles last season. He also had 14 tackles for a loss, three interceptions (returning two for touchdowns), and two forced fumbles and recoveries. He was the heart of this defense and will be very hard to replace.

Another big piece of their defense last season is also gone. Defensive lineman Oluwole Betiku Jr. led this Illinois team in sacks last year with 9.0 sacks. He was a disruptive force last year, and Illinois is going to miss his production. Linebacker Jake Hansen had the next most sacks, with 3.5. They are going to need to find someone to get after the quarterback this year.

The Illini will be returning junior safety, Sydney Brown. He was second on the team last year in tackles with 88. He also had three interceptions and a defensive touchdown. Elsewhere on the secondary, senior Nate Hobbs and redshirt freshman Marquez Beason are slated to start at cornerback. Hobbs played in all 13 games for the Illini and had 68 total tackles with an interception and 7 defended passes. Illinois will depend on him and Brown to anchor the secondary.