Illinois may be favored, but Illini and Badger coaches have their doubts

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) Las Vegas oddsmakers may have their opinions, but Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema doesn't buy into them.

When No. 5 Wisconsin meets Illinois Saturday at Memorial Stadium, the Illini (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) are projected to be 2 1/2-point favorites. But working against Illinois is Wisconsin's 14-game winning streak, the longest in the country, and the Illini's 18 seasons without a win over an opponent ranked in the top five.

Bielema says he doesn't understand the odds.

Though Bielema penciled Illinois into his ballot, the Illini didn't make the Top 25 after their 27-20 upset last Saturday of then-No. 21 Penn State. And the Badgers (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) delivered a 37-34 come-from-behind win over Michigan State, which entered the game unbeaten, last weekend at Camp Randall Stadium.

"I don't know what goes into that -- never have, never will," Bielema said of his team's underdog status. "But the bottom line is that I think anybody that's outside of any football program has their opinions and everybody's entitled to one and everybody knows the saying that goes with it."

Illinois coach Ron Zook acknowledges that the Illini have made progress, but he hardly considers his team a favorite. The Illini have won as many games this season than in the past two years combined and are 2-0 in the Big Ten standings for the first time since 1991. The Badgers, however, have won 36 games -- the most in the Big Ten -- dating back to the 2004 season.

"I think it's ludicrous," Zook said. "I think it's probably somebody from Wisconsin trying to get them upset or get them fired up because I don't think there's any way possible that a team like us could be favored over a team like Wisconsin."

Saturday's matchup features two of the country's top running backs in Wisconsin's P.J. Hill and Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall. P.J. Hill has rushed for 133.4 yards per game, sixth in the nation and second in the Big Ten. That's just ahead of Mendenhall (122.4 yards a game), who leads the conference in yards per carry at 6.4. And Mendenhall accounts for less than half of Illinois rushing -- the Illini lead the Big Ten and are sixth in the NCAA with 265.6 yards per game.

Part of the run threat is quarterback Juice Williams, who Bielema credits with "great creativity" on the field.

"He has the ability to make something out of nothing," Bielema said. "If he's in a situation where the defense has the correct answer and is in the proper position to make a play, he can make a guy miss; he can make two guys miss."

Because of Wisconsin's physical and athletic players, Williams said he must be able to "make adjustments on the fly and stay relaxed," which he considers to be his biggest problem of late.

Williams threw the ball well early against Penn State, but finished 11 of 24 for 120 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Zook benched him for backup Eddie McGee.

Zook said this week that he may occasionally play McGee, but Williams remains his starter.

As potent as Illinois' offense has been at times, it has had trouble scoring late in the past two games. Against Indiana and Penn State, Illinois has managed just 13 second-half points.

"We just need to go and finish up," said Illinois wide receiver Arrelious Benn, who was named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday for his 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Penn State. "We just have to go out with the same mind-set that we came out with in the first half and finish executing our plays."

Wisconsin, on the other hand, has outscored its opponents 52-26 in the fourth quarter this season.

In three of their last four games, the Badgers have come from behind for victories and have allowed just 39 second-half points all season. Trailing Wisconsin 34-24 in the third quarter last Saturday, the Badgers held off a late Spartans' surge for the win on a 22-yard Taylor Mehlhaff field goal with 6:15 remaining.

Illinois, which took a 24-10 lead into halftime of last season's game, eventually fell to Wisconsin 30-24 at Camp Randall Stadium. The Illini's win against Penn State last weekend was the first over a ranked opponent since 2001.

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