Redbirds Fall In Season Opener Against No. 18 Wisconsin, 38-0

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State knew it would have its hands full Saturday night at Camp Randall Stadium against No. 18 ranked Wisconsin, and the Badgers held true to form in a 38-0 defeat of the Redbirds in front of a raucous crowd of 73,727 fans.

How It Happened:
•    Wisconsin struck first on a 100-yard interception return by safety John Torchio to make it 7-0 with 1:52 left in the first quarter.
•    Another big strike for the Badgers made it 14-0, when Braelon Allen broke loose for a 96-yard touchdown run just over a minute into the second quarter.
•    A sack by Sy Dabney and a stop on third-and-long forced the Badgers to take a 28-yard field goal which was made by Vito Calvaruso extended the Wisconsin lead to 17-0 with 3:11 left before halftime.
•    Allen scored his second touchdown of the day, this time from one yard out on 4th-and-goal from the 1, to widen the Wisconsin advantage to 24-0 with 9:39 left in the third quarter.
•    Graham Mertz then connected with Chimere Dike on a 16-yard touchdown pass with 3:07 left in the third quarter to make the score 31-0 in favor of the Badgers.
•    A 1-yard run by Isaac Guerendo with 8:57 left in the game then brought the score to 38-0 for Wisconsin.

Game Notes:    
•    The Redbirds played in front of the biggest road crowd in school history of 73,727, topping the previous high of 62,347 set in 2009 at Illinois.
•    Redshirt freshman Daniel Sobkowicz recorded his first career catches in a Redbird uniform, finishing the game with two catches for 41 yards with a long of 35 yards in the second quarter.
•    Six different players caught at least two passes in the game, with tight end Bryson Deming leading the way with three receptions … Brock Annexstad added two catches for 36 yards in his first game as a Redbird.
•    Quarterback Zack Annexstad completed 16-of-24 pass attempts for 186 yards with a pair of interceptions in the contest … he finished the game completing 67 percent of his passes with a 115.1 quarterback rating in his Redbird debut.
•    Senior captain Zeke Vandenburgh led the Redbird defense with 10 tackles and recorded a sack for the Redbirds.
•    Wisconsin native Jeremiah Jordan also had a great game, recording eight tackles.
•    Transfer Deandre Lamont also had a solid debut effort the Redbirds, with five tackles and a pass breakup.

Next Up:
Illinois State returns to Normal to being a three-game homestand next Saturday, when the Redbirds host Valparaiso at Hancock Stadium for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff. 

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