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Badgers' 84-yard rushing TD vs Illinois has Wisconsin football back where it should be

Even if it was just for a moment, Wisconsin Badgers football was back to the way it should look against No. 21 Illinois.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin Badgers running back Darrion Dupree (6) carries the football during warmups prior at Camp Randall Stadium.
Wisconsin Badgers running back Darrion Dupree (6) carries the football during warmups prior at Camp Randall Stadium. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

Even if it was just for a moment, Wisconsin Badgers football was back to the way it should look against No. 21 Illinois.

A season of frustration and disappointment paused temporarily for a wave of overwhelming relief in the early third quarter Saturday night.

Running back Darrion Dupree took a second-down handoff from freshman quarterback Carter Smith, and 84 yards later, he was in the endzone for six.

It looked like quintessential Wisconsin football. In that moment, all was right again at Camp Randall Stadium.

No one is going to mistake Dupree for Braelon Allen, Jonathan Taylor or Melvin Gordon, but his breakaway run was reminiscent of the Badgers of years past that could count on a breakaway run like that from their star ball-carriers.

Doing it against Bret Bielema and the No. 21 Illini was the cherry on top.

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It was the longest play from scrimmage this season for Wisconsin, evidence of how exciting the moment was but also how desperate the team was for explosive offense.

Injuries have been a significant factor in that, with multiple running backs out for the season that led to Dupree's role as the lead runner.

The handoff came from the Badgers' fourth-string quarterback, and the offensive line went through many iterations to get to this group that sprung him free.

Luke Fickell has his team starting to put things together late in the season, and maybe getting back to the type of Wisconsin football the fan base has been waiting to see.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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