Four interceptions doom Illini in blowout loss at Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. — Here’s how Illinois’ day went Saturday at No. 7 Wisconsin:

While Badgers cornerback Sojourn Shelton was tumbling to the turf after breaking up a pass in the second quarter, the ball happened to carom off his foot and into the hands of teammate Leo Musso.

That was one of four interceptions in the first half for redshirt freshman Jeff George Jr., who had a rough day in the Illini’s 48-3 loss.

Wes Lunt made his first appearance since suffering an apparent back injury Oct. 8 against Purdue when he replaced George in the second half. Lunt fared no better at generating some offense, but he at least kept Illinois turnover-free.

‘‘You know it’s tough when you pull a guy,’’ Illini coach Lovie Smith said. ‘‘You always want to give the quarterback a chance to come out of it.’’

For Wisconsin (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten), which is 3-2 against teams ranked in the top 10, this homecoming blowout was a respite from the tightrope it has walked nearly every week against a fierce schedule.

‘‘When you play a great team like that, you have to play your best ball,’’ said Smith, who had hoped Illinois (3-7, 2-5) would build on its 31-27 home victory last week against Michigan State. ‘‘We didn’t play our best ball today. We played bad ball today. The week before, we played good ball. If I was a betting man, I’d say this week we’re going to come back home against Iowa and play more like we thought we’d play today.’’

A betting Illini fan probably would put his money on Lunt, a senior, to be under center on senior day Saturday in Champaign.

‘‘Whatever Coach wants is what we’ll do,’’ Lunt said. ‘‘I was kind of an emergency blanket going into [this] game. The opportunity just presented itself today. It felt good to be out there again.’’

Neither quarterback managed to do much against the Badgers’ stout defense. Lunt was 2-for-8 for 22 yards, and George was 5-for-16 for 79 yards and those four interceptions.

‘‘I was maybe trying to do too much, just forcing the ball,’’ George said. ‘‘As a competitor, you never want to be taken out of the game. But the coaches [did] what they felt was best, and you have to trust that.’’

Entering the game against Wisconsin, George had thrown four touchdown passes and only one interception in his first three college games.

‘‘I just didn’t do what I needed to do; I didn’t execute,’’ George said. ‘‘They didn’t do anything different than what we practiced. I made some bad decisions. Every game, you grow and you learn. I’m definitely going to have a lot to learn from this one.’’

Corey Clement ran for 123 yards and three touchdowns, Dare Ogunbowale for 103 yards and Bradrick Shaw for 73 yards and a touchdown as the Badgers churned out 363 rushing yards among their 455 yards of total offense.

Wisconsin will make a conference-record fourth trip to the Big Ten championship game if it beats Purdue and Minnesota in its last two games.

Illinois, which officially was eliminated from bowl eligibility, wants to make the most of its home finale against Iowa.

‘‘We have to bounce back,’’ linebacker Hardy Nickerson Jr. said. ‘‘We all have a bad taste in our mouth from this game. We’re ready to move on.’’

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