Perhaps you're a little worried about the Fighting Illini. Perhaps you flipped over to their game against Penn State during commercials last weekend and noticed that they were giving the Nittany Lions a scare. And perhaps you noticed that the final score did not reflect the uphill battle that JoePa and his crew had to endure for over 58 minutes.
Well, I'm here to tell you that there is nothing at all to worry about. Illinois has a rising star at quarterback, the mobile and elusive Juice Williams, and most of the time that would be a source of concern for the Badgers. But here's the thing; the guy's not much of a passer; he's completing barely 40% of the passes he throws, and last week he was a meager 13-of-33 against Penn State. When facing a defense that recently rendered Curtis Painter and friends dazzlingly ineffective, it's not unreasonable to expect a similar performance through the air this weekend. When it becomes apparent that UW isn't going to allow Juice to move his team down the field by passing, the game will be over; a team that relies on the running of a mobile quarterback and that doesn't have a passing attack is one that that Badgers are going to be able to smother.
I won't even get into Wisconsin's offense. The passing game has come together, and the Illini won't be able to stop Hill. And if you're not convinced of why the Badgers will win, keep in mind that this is the team that:
* was shut out by Rutgers
* lost to Syracuse and Ohio
* was beaten by a two-score margin by a Penn State that had 188 total yards
This is not a good team. Badgers 45, Illini 17
With that out of the way, we can focus on much more important things, such as cheerleaders. Specifically Ms. Ashley Pringle, who is featured by Sports Illustrated on Campus as their Cheerleader of the Week. She seems to be a pretty sharp girl, although her love of "Grey's Anatomy" and the Chicago Bears runs counter to that idea.
Meanwhile, the football team is getting all kinds of media love right now. Dave Revsine says that the Buckeyes are lucky to miss the Badgers this year over at ESPN.com, which is a high compliment. SI.com has a feature on our new favorite bruiser, and Pat Fiutak says that the Badgers will be the "hot" sleeper pick of 2007. Maybe Pat doesn't realize that John Stocco will not be here next year, but the fact that the Badgers remain on the national radar while the story of the year is #1 Ohio State and #2 Michigan says a lot about where this team is.
In other news, infamous throat-stomper Robert Reynolds is wanted by the police (quelle surprise!); there's a rematch of last year's national championship hockey game at the Kohl Center this weekend; the UNLV Rebels' home field has been declared Camp Randall West; and Joe Thomas is good.
Technorati tags: wisconsin badgers, college football, university of wisconsin, UW-Madison
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