As the Twitterverse marveled at Graham Mertz’s throws, UW players were simply seeing what they always have.

The Decatur Herald & Review's Joey Wagner shares his perspective from the other side of the action after the Badgers routed Illinois 45-7 in Madison on Friday night.

In the Badgers’ dominant, 45-7 win against visiting Illinois, Mertz tied a program record with five touchdown passes and lived up to all the hype that’s built around him since he committed to UW in 2017.

Years from now, hundreds of thousands of UW football fans will say they were there for the debut of quarterback Graham Mertz. They'll all be lying.

The junior bounced back from his mistake with two key plays on the ensuing series before going on to finish his productive night with seven catches for 72 yards and three touchdowns. 

Without 80,000 fans allowed into Camp Randall, the scene outside the stadium is cold, bleak and lonely.

A quick look at the 14th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers' 45-7 victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini Friday night in the season opener at an empty Camp Randall Stadium.

Tom Oates grades the No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers' performance in their 45-7 victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini in their season opener Friday night at Camp Randall Stadium.

Get the latest postgame updates after the 14th-ranked UW football team kicked off the delayed 2020 season Friday night with a 45-7 rout of the Illinois Fighting Illini at Camp Randall.

“The fans, our fans especially, they’re the part that makes Saturdays in the fall in Camp Randall so special. So obviously we’re going to be missing that help,” UW linebacker Jack Sanborn said.

History tells us that playmakers will surface in a program as strong as UW’s, but there are no guarantees.

Bob Asmussen, the Illinois football beat reporter and columnist since 1996 for The News-Gazette in Champaign, Ill, shares his thoughts about Friday’s game between No. 14 University of Wisconsin and Illinois.

UW athletic director Barry Alvarez admits he was beat down 10 weeks ago when the Big Ten called off its 2020 football season. Now, with the opener scheduled for Friday night, Alvarez is excited to watch the Badgers play.

Jon Dietzen is expected to make his 33rd career start and his first at right guard. It’ll be his first football game since the Pinstripe Bowl against Miami on Dec. 27, 2018, a gap of 666 days between games.

The Illini collected 28 turnovers last season — 16 fumble recoveries and 12 interceptions — to lead the Big Ten. 

State Journal beat reporters Colten Bartholomew and Jim Polzin get together over Zoom to talk about the Badgers' season opener against Illinois on Friday night.

The mayors asked the conference to announce game times as soon as possible and to limit late-afternoon and evening games.

Even in a limited sample size, Badgers quarterback Graham Mertz showed some great traits, and a few iffy ones.

Brandon Peters, Illinois' first returning starter at quarterback since 2016, leads an offense that has also has experience at wide receiver, tight end and on the line.

Merritt Norvell earned bachelor's, masters and doctoral degrees from UW and was a senior on the Badgers team that played in the Rose Bowl following the 1962 season.

With a rare combination of size and speed, inside linebacker Leo Chenal is set to start in a key spot for the Badgers defense. 

UW leads the all-time series against Nebraska 10-4, and is 8-1 against the Cornhuskers since they joined the Big Ten.

In what could be his last season as a Badger, tight end Jake Ferguson looks to be a bigger part of UW's passing game after playing nearly every snap at tight end last season.

Houston transfer Collin Wilder has a chance to be a key factor at safety this season, after Reggie Pearson wasn't medically cleared to play.

Graham Mertz is officially listed as the Badgers starting quarterback, while other positions are still being decided as UW released its depth chart Sunday evening.

UW coach Paul Chryst hasn’t been definitive about much of anything regarding special teams, a unit that needs to replace its punter, kickoff specialist and kick returner. Andy Vujnovich was granted a waiver to play this season by the NCAA after transferring to UW from Division III University of Dubuque. Punting is a concern for UW, which ranked 13th in that category in Big Ten play last season with a net average of 35.6 yards after finishing last the previous two seasons.

Friday’s game will be played at a site not many have ever seen — an empty Camp Randall Stadium on a game day. The Big Ten isn’t allowing fans at games this season, and due to rising COVID-19 cases across the state, UW isn’t allowing parents to attend as it had originally planned.

The energy and swagger of new Badgers wide receivers coach Alvis Whitted's has been noticeable to the players during his first few months on the job.

Assistant coach Alvis Whitted's energy and swagger has been noticeable to the UW wide receivers during his first few months on the job.

In the second part of the State Journal's Badgers football preview, Colten Bartholomew explores just how crucial Sanborn’s play will be for UW.

With a week left before opening the season against Illinois, the University of Wisconsin football team’s offensive line is still ironing out its top unit.