Oct. 25--The pregame directive for Illinois quarterback Wes Lunt might not have been fair, but it was necessary.
"(Quarterback) coach Ryan Cubit came up to me and said they're expecting perfection out of me," Lunt said. "That's hard. But it's a role I'm going to take and look forward to."
An injury-depleted Illinois wasn't completely adequate at any position Saturday against Wisconsin in a 24-13 homecoming loss at Memorial Stadium.
And while Lunt executed (22 of 43 passing), he wasn't the golden version that Illinois now requires with so many playmakers out. He threw one interception and had no touchdown passes.
But Lunt is hardly completely to blame on an offense that was down three receivers, lost tight end Tyler White (knee) during the game and was again without top running back Josh Ferguson, who missed his second straight game with a shoulder injury.
"We're still going down to the wire with teams," offensive guard Teddy Karras said. "I hate moral victories because I'm sick of them. But we have one of the most staggering injury lists of Big Ten playmakers. We still expect to win every game."
The Illini (4-3, 1-2 Big Ten) produced only 55 rushing yards with freshman Ke'Shawn Vaughn taking all 13 handoffs. Illinois interim coach Bill Cubit said reserve Henry Enyenihi is not an option because of the need for pass protection from the running backs, an area in which Vaughn also needs to improve.
But he did rip off an impressive 36-yard touchdown run virtually untouched for a 13-10 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Badgers (6-2, 3-1) answered with Alex Erickson's momentum-swinging 56-yard run on the first play of the ensuing drive, leading to Alec Ingold's 2-yard touchdown rush. Wisconsin extended its lead 24-13 on a 9-yard touchdown pass to Erickson from backup Bart Houston, who came in after starter Joel Stave left the game with a head injury in the first quarter.
Lunt threw an interception on the next drive and the offense stalled again.
The Illini converted only 3 of 12 third downs, and Wisconsin (40 minutes, 9 seconds) had more than double Illinois' time of possession.
"They're really stout," Cubit said of Wisconsin's defense. "They played a lot of man to man, a lot more than we had seen on tape. We just didn't play as well in certain segments. We tried so many different things (on third down) and kept coming up short."
Illinois is focused on snapping a two-game losing streak, whether injured players return or not.
"Everyone has to man up, coaches and players, and fix it," Cubit said.
sryan@tribpub.com
2 minute drill
Red zone trouble: Illinois settled for field goals in both trips to the red zone after marching to the 19- and 7-yard lines. They entered the game ranked last in the Big Ten, converting on 19 of 26 chances in the red zone with only 13 touchdowns.
Two-way Day: Defensive back Caleb Day, who also plays on special teams, filled in at receiver because of the injuries that have left Illinois short-handed. He caught two passes, one for 16 yards.
Full-er house: Quarterback Wes Lunt said he has not seen the student section so full at Memorial Stadium. The section appeared almost at capacity, a rare occurrence, and the stadium welcomed a season-high crowd of 45,438 fans.
Picked off: Eaton Spence almost picked off quarterback Joel Stave in the first quarter, but he did intercept backup Bart Houston in the corner of the end zone with 33 seconds to go in the first half and Wisconsin at the 3.
Up next: Illinois plays at Penn State on Saturday.
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