Wisconsin Illinois Border War » Brats & Beer

October 4, 2007
posted under: Badgers football, Bears, Packers, Pre-game

The football gods sure cooked up a good one this weekend, with the undefeated Wisconsin Badgers traveling to Champaign to play Illinois and the Chicago Bears coming to Lambeau Field to face the undefeated Green Bay Packers. It’s going to be a real battle royal between the Land of Lincoln and the Dairyland; we should all pity the Flatlanders for what’s going to happen to their sports teams this weekend. (No, you don’t really have to.)

And by all that I mean that the Badgers and the Packers will be victorious in close games. I don’t think anyone can predict a blowout by either team based on the past few weeks.

The Badgers, well, they just keep winning despite the fact that the defense is playing sloppy and giviing up a whole mess of points in the first half. Luckily the offense is able to put up points like nobody’s business and stay in the game. The Illini look like a real, live football team this year scoring 30 points a game while allowing less than 20. Their ground game has been absolutely prolific so far with almost 1,300 yards in five games, led by Rashard Mendenhall who’s been gaining more than 120 yards a game.

This one is going to go according to the script of the past few weeks: Wisconsin will allow some big plays in the first half but keep it close, then start to pull away in the second half when the defense finally makes a couple key stops or comes up with a turnover or two. The Badgers win by a touchdown.

On Sunday the Packers get their first prime time game of the regular season, and can’t you just wait to hear what ramblin’, senile old John Madden will have to say about Brett Favre, the Green Bay Packers, and Lambeau Field? He might even top Berman’s “rooting for Favre” comment. Yeah, I think I’ll be listening to Wayne and Larry on the radio, too.

The Bears defense is all banged up and got stomped on in the fourth quarter by the Lions. Urlacher is going to have a tough time covering the entire field by himself while trying to blitz, so you have to think Green Bay’s quick passing attack is going to get some yards and points Sunday night. Meanwhile, Chicago’s offense is in disarray with Griese starting for the benched Rex Grossman and the running game stuck in the Illinois mud. About the only weapon the Bears really have is Devin Hester, which should be a great test for the special teams unit.

The Packers are probably going to be tentative against Chicago, at least early on, and this will be a close game in the first half. When Urlacher finally gets winded in the third quarter that’s when Favre will start to strike paydirt and add to his career record TD total. The margin could be bigger, of course, if Greise decides to throw a few more picks; Al Harris and Charles Woodsen I’m sure will be more than happy to return them to the end zone.

On Wisconsin!