MADISON, Wis. — Despite an early and strong start, Wisconsin dropped a tough 34-10 loss to visiting Illinois on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.

Coached by former Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema in his first return to Madison, the Illini were led by Chase Brown who rushed for 129 yards and Tommy DeVito had three short touchdown keepers.

Illinois (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) scored 17 points off Wisconsin turnovers and scored the game's final 27 points to win as a 6 1/2-point underdog. The Illini sacked Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz six times and held the Badgers to two yards rushing on 24 carries.

Wisconsin (2-3, 0-2) took an early 7-0 lead thanks to Mertz and running back Isaac Guerendo. In the shotgun, Mertz slinged the ball deep left to Guerendo for 21 yards on third-and-8 for the touchdown at 11:15 on the Badgers' opening possession. The Illini answered back as the game was tied up 7-7 to close the quarter and Wisconsin reclaimed the lead 10-7 courtesy of a 39-yard field goal by Nate Van Zelst. Illinois later took a 14-10 halftime lead by scoring a pair of touchdowns after intercepting passes in Wisconsin territory. The Illini broke the game open by outscoring Wisconsin 17-0 in the third quarter, including a 49-yard touchdown run by Brown.

Illinois held Wisconsin to its lowest single-game rushing total since 2015 (1.7 yards per carry) and running back Braelon Allen had just two yards on 7 carries.

Mertz went 4 of 4 for 54 yards on Wisconsin's opening possession, but he was just 13 of 27 for 152 yards with two interceptions the remainder of the game.

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

Wisconsin's defense was led by Jordan Turner and Maema Njongmeta with eight tackles a piece. Keeanu Benton had two sacks for the Badgers.

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.

Wisconsin will look to rally on the road at Northwestern next Saturday, October 8. The Badgers kick off against the Wildcats at either 2:30 or 3:00 p.m. with the confirmed time and television broadcast channel still to be announced.
 

 

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The Associated Press contributed to this article.