Badger O comes to life in fourth quarter to beat Illinois

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MADISON - The University of Wisconsin Badger offense finally came to life in the fourth quarter of the sixth game of the season, showing the brutal, pounding ground game missing this year and ensuring a 31-14 win over Illinois.

Montee Ball slashed for 116 yards and two scores while Joel Stave tossed a pair of TD passes as UW evened its Big Ten Conference record at 1-1. Jared Abbrederis had another big games for the Badgers, catching a 59-yard touchdown pass and topping 100 yards receiving for a third game in a row. James White took a screen pass from Stave and took it to the endzone from 62 yards out. Stave threw for 254 yards in the victory.

Though Illinois absorbed another loss, the Fighting Illini got some good news about defensive back Terry Hawthorne. He was injured in a collision with Badger fullback Derek Watt and lay motionless on the field for a short time. He gave a thumbs up to the crowd as he was loaded into an ambulance and was said to be showing movement at a Madison hospital later.

Wisconsin’s record improves to 4-2 overall, 1-1 in the Big Ten with an important road game next Saturday against Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Tags: wisconsin sports, proam, football, badgers