Illinois pounds Wisconsin 34-10 in Bret Bielema’s return to Camp Randall

MADISON, Wis. — Chase Brown rushed for 129 yards, quarterback Tommy DeVito had three short touchdown runs and Illinois trounced Wisconsin 34-10 on Saturday to give coach Bret Bielema a triumphant return to Camp Randall Stadium.

Illinois (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) scored 17 points off Wisconsin turnovers and scored the final 27 points to win as a 6½-point underdog. The Illini sacked Graham Mertz six times and held the Badgers to 2 yards rushing on 24 carries.

Bielema went 68-24 in seven years as Wisconsin’s coach before leaving for Arkansas at the end of the 2012 regular season as the Badgers were preparing for a Rose Bowl appearance. Wisconsin won at least a share of the Big Ten title each of his last three seasons.

He was fired at Arkansas in 2017 after going 29-34 and took over Illinois’ program in December 2020. The Badgers won 24-0 at Illinois last season, but this was the first time Bielema faced Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium.

Bielema was the first coach to take an opposing Big Ten team to a school he coached to a Big Ten title since John Pont coached Northwestern in a 1973 game at Indiana. Pont had led Indiana to a share of the 1967 Big Ten crown.

Bielema received a smattering of boos when his name was announced in the pregame introductions, though the stands were less than 20% full at that point about half an hour before the 11 a.m. kickoff.

A much larger crowd showed significantly more displeasure as the Badgers got dismantled for a second straight week. Wisconsin (2-3, 0-2) was coming off a 52-21 loss at No. 3 Ohio State.

Illinois took a 14-10 halftime lead by scoring a pair of touchdowns after intercepting Graham Mertz passes in Wisconsin territory. The Illini broke the game open by outscoring Wisconsin 17-0 in the third quarter, including Brown’s 49-yard touchdown run.

Brown, who entered the day with an FBS-leading 151 rushing yards per game, produced his sixth straight 100-yard performance. Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen, who was ranked fifth with 124.3 yards rushing per game, had just 2 yards on 7 carries.

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Illinois held Wisconsin to its lowest single-game rushing total since 2015, when the Badgers had minus-26 yards on 26 carries in a 13-7 loss to Northwestern. Even if the sacks were taken out of the equation, Wisconsin still mustered only 1.7 yards per carry.

Mertz went 4 of 4 for 54 yards on Wisconsin’s opening possession and capped the series with a 21-yard touchdown to Isaac Guerendo on third-and-8. But he was just 13 of 27 for 152 yards with two interceptions the rest of the way and played the last 2½ quarters with tape around his left (non-throwing) hand.

DeVitto went 18 of 24 for 167 yards. Each of his three touchdown runs was from 1 yard.

Illinois: The Illini won with the same style that Bielema had so much success with at Wisconsin. They outrushed Wisconsin 137-2, made fewer mistakes and won at the line of scrimmage. Illinois plays host to Iowa and No. 21 Minnesota the next two weeks in games that could determine how much of a factor they will be in the Big Ten West race.

Wisconsin: The Badgers have to start asking themselves some difficult questions about the direction of their program as they’ve fallen below .500 after opening the season in the Top 25. Wisconsin’s offense was hurt by injuries that knocked tight end Hayden Rucci, Guerendo and wide receiver Skyler Bell out of the game. The Badgers also announced before the game that tight end Clay Cundiff is out for the rest of the season after getting carted off the field at Ohio State.

Illinois: Plays host to Iowa on Saturday.

Wisconsin: At Northwestern on Saturday.