Levron Williams knew after the Wisconsin victory that he'd had a career game.\nTeammates congratulated him. Reporters talked about records he'd tied and broken. Coaches praised his efforts.\nThe rest of the college football world took notice Monday.\nWilliams, who ran for two career highs -- 280 yards and six touchdowns -- against the Badgers, was named Big Ten offensive player of the week for his efforts. He also earned Big Ten player of the week honors from USA Today and www.collegefootabllnews.com. ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski named him national player of the week.\nWilliams, a senior tailback, admitted the game was the biggest of his college career. He also shared his achievements with his blockers.\n"It means a lot to me," he said. "That's what you need. You need running backs to have a (breakout) game or something like that. It just feels great knowing that I got 280 against a powerhouse team.\n"I couldn't get it without my offensive line. They made the holes for me."\nAfter the big game, Williams leads the Big Ten and is second in the nation in all-purpose yards per game with 214.8. He's also first in the conference and fourth nationally in scoring, with 13.5 points per game, and second in the conference and 14th nationally with 119.2 yards rushing per game.
KEEPING FAITH\nCoach Cam Cameron hasn't lost hope in his freshman kicker, Bryan Robertson, after Robertson missed three extra points against Wisconsin.\nCameron, in fact, shouldered the blame for the three misfires.\n"He was up over it too early," Cameron said. "Finally I said, 'I don't want you to get ready until you're ready to kick.' And once he did that, he made them all. I should have caught that, and I know better. I should have caught that after the first one.\n"He was just sitting there waiting too long. Nobody's gonna kick it (well) if you're standing there \nwaiting too long and you're set. That's all it was in my mind. That kid can kick now."\nIt seems Cameron was right. After making the change, Robertson connected on all of his remaining extra points and made his first career field goal.\n \nGOOD TIMES\nSenior linebacker Justin Smith said he's never had as much fun in a game as he did against Wisconsin.\n"I've never showed as much emotion in a football game as I did last Saturday," he said. "It was fun, both sides of the ball, special teams, we were all just having a blast. And then coming into the third quarter, you see their fans leaving. It felt good."\nGood enough to celebrate.\nAfter the game, senior Antwaan Randle El said players were dancing in the locker room -- each guy doing his own celebratory strut. Smith, meanwhile, took pictures to capture the moment.
PAYBACK AND THE PUNTING GAME\nSophomore Ryan Hamre, who hadn't punted since the season opener vs. North Carolina State, got a chance to redeem himself against Wisconsin. Hamre's first punt sailed 41 yards, but his average for the afternoon was 28 -- not good enough to secure the position.\nRobertson will handle pooch punts, and, as the Hoosiers did before the Wisconsin game, they'll have a punt-off Saturday between Hamre and senior J.R. Drummond.\nRandle El is still an option, as well.\n"Antwaan, at this point, will be -- if one of those two guys doesn't perform -- No. 11 is going in and he is going to punt," Cameron said. "We're not going to fiddle around because we know he can consistently kick it down there 40 yards.\n"If there is a problem with the snap it obviously opens up some other options for you. You could very well see Antwaan punting every snap in this game also."\nThat doesn't bother Randle El.\nIn fact, he wants to punt after what happened last season against Illinois.\nDuring the game, the Illini made it a point to send several blockers after Randle El when he punted. An Illini defender laid a lick on Randle El and kept blocking him when Randle El tried to get up.\nRandle El said he always looks forward to beating Illinois, his home state, but last year's incident gives him added incentive.\n"It's gonna be a nasty game just because of what happened last time," he said. "When I say nasty, I don't mean dirty like personal fouls and all that stuff. But it's just gonna be a dog fight, you know?\n"I couldn't believe it happened (last season). Their coach called over and apologized. But they did what they did. They had their reasons. That's silly, I don't know. I try not to think about it, but when we play Illinois, how can you not"
