For most of the week, Wisconsin football fans weren’t sure who would be under center. Mertz was injured after getting rocked by Michigan cornerback Dax Hill when he came free off a blitz in last week’s game against the Wolverines.
After Mertz left the game with a chest inkury, backup Chase Wolf came in relief and the Wisconsin offense continued to struggle. After last week’s showing, I think Badger fans know what they would be getting from Wolf and would like to have Mertz back under center.
The Wisconsin football team has a matchup with the 2-4 Illinois Fighting Illini this weekend in Champagne, Illinois. This is a game a lot of Wisconsin football fans really want to win because the Illini are led by former Wisconsin coach, Bret Bielema.
On Monday, Mertz met with the media, which is always a good sign for an injured player. Normally when a player is hurt, Wisconsin doesn’t make that player available. During his interview, Mertz talked about his injury and his status. From Badger247’s Michael Hogan:
"“You always want to play,” Mertz said. “I am doing what I can to make sure I can put myself in the best position. I feel good.”"
He was questionable at the start of the week, but he did practice.
Now, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal’s Jeff Potrykus, Mertz and tight end Jack Ferguson, who also left the game with a chest injury, practiced all week and should be good to go for the game this Saturday.
Before Mertz was injured, he manufactured two scoring drives for an offense that has been stagnant for most of the season. He was making some nice touch passes, including a dime to Chimere Dike for a touchdown right before the end of the half. Hopefully, he can come back and build on those two drives.
The Badgers and Illini will kick off at 2:30 PM on Saturday in Champagne. This will be the first time Wisconsin will be at Illinois since 2019 when they were ranked 6th in the country and upset by the Illini, 24-23 on a game-winning field goal.