Baggot: Five things to know - Badgers take on Illinois
October 19, 2023 | Football
Wisconsin squares off with the Fighting Illini in Champaign on Saturday afternoon
The last time the Wisconsin football team opened the season with a heralded transfer as the starting quarterback, then replaced him with a redshirt freshman out of necessity, it was 2012.
Junior Danny O’Brien transferred from Maryland, won the starting job and took the opening snap for the first three games.
But after lackluster outings at Oregon State (10-7 loss) and at home vs. Utah State (16-14 victory), UW coach Bret Bielema opted to bench O’Brien and go with redshirt freshman Joel Stave as his starter.
That arrangement lasted six games before Stave suffered a broken clavicle during a 16-13 overtime loss to Michigan State, knocking him out for the season. Senior Curt Phillips started the last five outings, including a 70-31 win over Nebraska in the Big Ten championship game and a 20-14 loss to Stanford in the Rose Bowl.
Fast forward to Saturday when the Badgers (4-2 overall, 2-1 in the Big Ten) play Illinois (3-4, 1-3) at 2:30 p.m. Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill.
Redshirt freshman Braedyn Locke, a transfer from Mississippi State, is expected to make his first career start for UW. He took the wheel when senior starter Tanner Mordecai, a transfer from Southern Methodist, suffered a broken right (throwing) hand during the second quarter of a 15-6 loss to Iowa.
Here are five more things to know:
ONE
How big a deal is it that junior tailback Braelon Allen is now part of the 3,000-yard career rushing club at UW? His total of 3,069 would rank him among the top 10 at every current and soon-to-be-added Big Ten school. He would be third at Illinois, Maryland and Rutgers; fourth at Iowa and Purdue; sixth at Northwestern, Oregon, UCLA and Washington; seventh at Indiana; eighth at Michigan State and Penn State; ninth at Minnesota and Nebraska; and 10th at Michigan, Ohio State and USC.
TWO
Halfway through the regular season, the Badgers are averaging 27.2 points, 212.8 passing yards, 187.0 rushing yards and 399.8 yards of total offense per outing. The Football Bowl Subdivision midseason averages for those categories are 28.9 points, 237.5 passing yards, 156.4 rushing yards and 393.9 yards of total offense.
THREE
The Wisconsin defense has not allowed a point on any of the six game-opening drives, including three-and-outs vs. Buffalo, Purdue and Rutgers.
FOUR
So far, the Badgers have used six redshirt freshmen (Locke, wide receiver Quincy Burroughs, running back Cade Yacamelli, tight end JT Seagraves, offensive lineman Barrett Nelson and nose tackle Curt Neal) and four true freshmen (cornerback Jonas Duclona, outside linebacker Christian Alliegro, tight end Tucker Ashcraft and punter Atticus Bertrams). Locke is projected to be the first to appear in a starting role.
FIVE
UW quarterbacks attempted 50 passes during the loss to Iowa. That plateau has been reached only two other times by the Badgers since 2000, both by Stave. He passed 53 times during a 31-24 loss to Penn State in 2013 and attempted 50 throws in a 23-21 victory at Nebraska in 2015.
