Welcome back Big 10 football! And what a start it was. The Badgers made light work of the Fighting Illini to beat their “rivals” 45-7. After a slow start in the first quarter, Wisconsin turned it up entering the second. After the Badgers only score in the first quarter being a single touchdown on a short field, Wisconsin was able to get up to a 28-7 lead going into the half. There was no looking back after that. With the defense playing lights out, Illinois was unable to do anything on offense. Even their one score came on a defensive touchdown. While the defense was phenomenal, this win really came on the back of Graham Mertz in his first start.
Graham Mertz has ARRIVED
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Alright I think it’s safe to say that Graham Mertz is really good at football. In his first college start, Mertz was 20-21 and broke or tied (checks notes) three school records. Mertz broke the school record for completion percentage at 95%, and tied school records for consecutive completions with 17 and single game passing touchdowns with five. Those completions were a mix of good reads, beautiful throws and some huge bombs. Between his two games last year playing as a backup and his first game as a starter, Mertz has thrown two incompletions. In a matter of three games, he has only thrown two incompletions. Two incompletions. I still can’t believe it. While it would be easy to say this was a fluke, which who knows it might be, actually watching him suggests otherwise. How safe he is with the ball, coupled with how he was reading the Illinois defense, plus his natural arm talent, this kid seems like he’ll be something special. How he threads the needle, but can also cannonball-it down the field. Mertz might be the most promising quarterback to come into Wisconsin since Russell Wilson.
The Highs
Aside from Mertz, who deserved his own paragraph, there were other notable performances. The defense, as a whole, was phenomenal. After looking at a quick highlight video of the game, I noticed that there weren’t any Illinois offensive highlights. Aside from the defensive fumble return for a touchdown, the Illini never scored. Their offense couldn’t put up any points against this defense. Illinois was only able to put up barely over 200 yards on offense. While the defense did have some lackluster moments, shutting out any college level offense is nothing to sneeze at. And on offense, Mertz wasn’t the only one who impressed. After a bad fumble, Jake Ferguson redeemed himself by hauling in seven catches and three touchdowns. One touchdown catch came after Ferguson took a huge shot after the catch in the end zone. He was able to hold on firm to this one. Ferguson looks like he’ll be the security blanket the young quarterback needs.
The Lows
The offensive line didn’t look great. Not terrible, but they definitely looked rusty. Which is definitely understandable, considering how this off season has gone. The running game also looked a little rough around the edges, for a first. Whether this was because of the rusty offensive line or not, it still wasn’t an incredibly impressive performance from the running backs. With that said, the fact that any part of our offense looked impressive is a win. With the players we have on the line and the overall faith I have in the running game, because I mean we’re Wisconsin, that’s what we do, these aren’t causes for concern yet.
Final Thoughts
While there were some small issues on offense, none of it seems like real concerns. Rather, these were likely just the result of rust from a difficult and long offseason. There are more things to be excited about than to worry about with this team. First and foremost, the young prodigy from Kansas. With Mertz leading this team, if the rest of the team is able to shake off the rust and work out the kinks, this team will be very dangerous.
Check out my shockingly close score prediction here!
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