CHAMPAIGN, ILL. - It had been over a year since the UW football team (5-1 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) had lost a game, but the longest winning streak in the nation came to an end Saturday at Memorial Stadium against Illinois with a heartbreaking 31-26 defeat.
Two fourth quarter interceptions by UW senior quarterback Tyler Donovan inside Illinois territory hampered any hopes the Badgers had of a comeback as they came on two consecutive possessions when the Badgers had a chance to take the lead.
We had two big interceptions today,"" Bielema said. ""Bottom line, for us to have this game, to get a victory, we needed to be clean in all of our phases and we weren't.""
The Fighting Illini attacked the Badger defense by running the ball from the start. Illinois scored with 7:19 left in the first quarter when Fighting Illini junior running back Rashard Mendenhall took a pitch and sprinted to the pylon from 32-yards out.
Already up 10-0, Illinois found themselves deep in UW territory, lining up at the Badger five yard-line. Illinois sophomore quarterback Isiah ""Juice"" Williams took the snap and rolled out to the right. As he was about to get hit, he made a perfect pitch, counted as a pass, to Mendenhall who then walked into the end zone, giving Illinois a 17-0 lead.
UW's senior kicker Taylor Mehlhaff was able to get the Badgers on the board in the second quarter when he connected from 38 yards.
A golden opportunity was missed after UW held Illinois to a three and out on the ensuing possession and found themselves inside the Illini 10 yard-line as the half was winding down but had to settle for a field goal making the score 17-6 at the half.
On the first drive of the second half, UW made it clear to the 57,078 fans in Memorial Stadium that they were not going away, as UW senior quarterback Tyler Donovan found freshman wide receiver Kyle Jefferson behind the Illini defense for a 43-yard touchdown pass.
Once again, however, the UW defense was unable to find a way to slow down the Illinois offense on the following possession as Mendenhall scored his third touchdown of the day when he scampered 5 yards into the end zone, opening the lead for the Illini once again.
""They're strong runners, the quarterback has good size in addition to being quick and he can make you miss tackles,"" Bielema said. ""As a coach you can't accept those things, we just got to get more hats to the ball and be more physical when we get there.""
UW was still in the game when they answered the Illinois score with a bruising nine-play 78-yard drive that resulted in a one-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back P.J. Hill. However, the two-point conversion attempt came up short so the Badgers remained down 24-19, late in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was one of missed opportunities for the Badgers, as Donovan threw two interceptions when the Badgers seemingly had the momentum and were poised to take the lead.
The second of the two interceptions set the Illini up for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown drive, as Illinois back-up freshman quarterback Eddie McGee scrambled into the end zone making the score 31-19 with 5:28 left in the game.
UW scored a touchdown but after a failed onside kick attempt, Illinois picked up a first down and knelt the ball to clinch the upset.
""We can't let this loss beat us twice,"" junior cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu said. ""We [have] got a tougher road game, I believe, in Penn State next week, more hostile environment so we got to move on. We can't let this beat us twice.
