At last, Big Ten football returned on Friday, Oct. 23 when the Illinois Fighting Illini took on the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Despite no fans in attendance, every Badger fan was watching their 2020 squad dominate the Illini with their friends and families. It was good to be back, and the Badgers took care of business making the fans back home happy with a 45-7 victory. 

The game was highlighted by Badger freshman quarterback Graham Mertz, who has received lots of hype over the years from the fan base due to being a top recruit coming out of high school. Mertz made his debut, and didn’t disappoint. He finished the game completing 20 of 21 pass attempts, for 5 touchdowns and 248 yards. 

“Mertz’s performance was remarkable,” senior Nick Churchill said. “I couldn’t believe my eyes. We haven’t had a quarterback who could do the things he was doing since Russell Wilson, so it was awesome seeing him play so good.” 

As good as Mertz did, there were other areas that the Badgers excelled in. The defense didn’t allow a touchdown, and only gave up 218 total yards compared to the 430 the Badgers offense got. They also forced two turnovers, and allowed two third down conversions, and zero fourth down conversions. 

“As good as they were on offense, their defense probably played even better,” senior Brett Shumway said. “Their defensive line controlled the game by limiting the run, and their secondary covered well and made good plays downfield.” 

As always in sports though, no game is perfect and the Badgers still have many things to improve on. It took them almost two quarters to get their offense going, also their run game wasn’t as solid as usual. A fumble early in the second quarter resulted in a touchdown for Illinois as well. 

“It took them a little longer than it should’ve to start taking control of the game,” sophomore Blake Kogelmann said. “They played a really good game, but Graham Mertz really carried the offense, and it’s not a good sign when the pass game carries the offense because that won’t work against good teams. They do have a lot to fix but they played well and it was exciting.” 

Despite a successful week one, the Badgers unfortunately will have to put their season on hold as many players and coaches have contracted COVID-19, including Mertz. This is not only heartbreaking for Wisconsin fans, but college football fans as a whole due to the high expectations and playoff hopes they had. 

Junior Zach Sheridan who is a Michigan fan, agrees this hurt college football. “They were a scary good team who probably had a legitimate shot to make the College Football Playoff,” Sheridan said. “It would’ve been nice to see a different team other than Ohio State, Clemson or Alabama in the playoff so it’s a shame their season is shaping like this. 

Wisconsin is expected to return to play on Nov. 14 against Michigan, and even though their College Football Playoff hopes are most likely gone, fans were happy to see them, as well as all the other Big Ten teams, play again after a long period of time. Fans hope that when they do return to play they can watch them dominate and entertain fans during these tough times.