No. 5 Wisconsin loses Jonathan Taylor, but stymies Illinois

On, WWWWWWWWisconsin pic.twitter.com/4jh3uhHQCS

— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) October 28, 2017

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Wisconsin lost standout freshman running back Jonathan Taylor for the second half Saturday, but the Badgers didn't lose their unbeaten record.

Holding punchless Illinois out of the end zone until the final minute, the fifth-ranked Badgers improved to 8-0 for the first time in 13 years with a 24-10 Big 10 Conference win at Memorial Stadium.

Taylor rushed for 73 yards on 12 carries in the first half and appeared to be on pace to get near his average of nearly 159 yards per game. But he didn't appear for either of the team's first two offensive series of the third quarter, and Wisconsin officials confirmed that he was out for the game's remainder with a left leg injury.

Now 5-0 in the conference, Wisconsin did most of its damage in the first half, with help from key mistakes by the Fighting Illini.

After Illinois was flagged for 12 men on the field before a punt, the Badgers marched 92 yards in 15 plays and 8:05. Fullback Alec Ingold plunged in from the 1 on fourth-and-goal with seven seconds left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.

Following a fumble recovery at midfield after Jeff George Jr. was sacked and lost the ball, Wisconsin made it 14-0 with 7:07 remaining in the first half on a 2-yard touchdown run by Garrett Groshek. A targeting penalty on freshman James Knight, who was ejected from the game, helped set up the score.

Chase McLaughlin converted a 28-yard field goal with 39 seconds left in the half for the Illini's only points, but Rafael Gaglianone hit a 52-yarder as time expired to restore a 14-point lead at intermission.

Wisconsin put it away with 3:54 left in the game on a well-conceived trick play. Quarterback Alex Hornibrook lateraled to left tackle Michael Dieter, who rumbled 4 yards for a 24-3 advantage.

Hornibrook hit 10 of 19 passes for 135 yards and an interception as the Badgers finished with 303 offensive yards, a season low.

Illinois (2-6, 0-5) alternated quarterbacks and neither displayed consistent accuracy. George completed 7 of 20 passes for 108 yards, while freshman Cam Thomas was 2 of 11 for 44 yards and tossed two interceptions.

Kendrick Foster's 3-yard touchdown run with 49 seconds remaining made the final margin more respectable for the Illini.

NOTES: Wisconsin freshman RB Jonathan Taylor entered the game with 1,112 rushing yards. By comparison, Illinois had managed only 831 yards on the ground as a team before kickoff. ... The Illini started the day leading FBS in forced fumbles per game at 1.83, and were tied for the overall lead in forced fumbles with 13. ... The Badgers came into Saturday's second in FBS with a 55.2 percent conversion rate on third downs. Only TCU was better at 56.2 percent.