How to watch Wisconsin vs. Illinois on TV or online, plus 3 things to know

There is a weak slate of games this week, but Illinois-Wisconsin could be sneaky good. Illinois started the season with blowout wins over bad competition, and it does have a couple losses keeping it well below the top 25 — at North Carolina and at Iowa — but the Illini have been good at home this year, and they have an impressive win over Nebraska that showcased an improved defense.

Wisconsin was the favorite in the Big Ten West coming into the season, pretty much by default. However, the Badgers haven’t lived up to expectations. They’re 5-2 with a win at Nebraska, but they’ve lost to the only two top 25 teams they’ve played, getting blown out by Alabama and falling at home to Iowa. The defense has been solid, but the offense has really struggled without star running back Corey Clement, who, other than a poor performance against Alabama, has been sidelined with a sports hernia.

This will really be a gut-check game for Illinois to see whether the Illini have turned the corner in the Big Ten. They beat Nebraska at home, but they couldn’t take out West division leader Iowa. Can they take down Wisconsin and move into second place in the Big Ten? Meanwhile, this is probably the toughest remaining game for the Badgers. If they can get past this game, they’ll still be in the Big Ten West race.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

Radio: Illinois, Wisconsin

Online streaming: BTN2GO

Spread: Wisconsin is favored by 7 points.

Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at The Champaign Room for Illinois fans and Bucky’s 5th Quarter for Wisconsin fans.

1. The loser of this game is almost certainly out of the Big Ten West race. They will effectively be two games behind the winner and three games behind Iowa. So this is a must-win for both teams.

2. Some things have changed for the better for Illinois!

3. Is the Illinois defense for real? We’ll find out against a not-good, not-awful Wisconsin offense.