Wisconsin defeated Illinois during the college football game in Madison on Saturday. Wide receiver Eugene Hilton used deceptive high-IQ trickery to help the Badgers secure victory.
This unique strategy is becoming a trend across all levels of the sport and it continues to work!
Most high school, NFL and college football defensive backs do not look for the ball until it is about to arrive. Wide receivers are starting to exploit their lack of vision!
Wisconsin defeated Illinois.
The 3-7 Badgers took down the 7-3 Fighting Illini at home on Saturday. It was a pretty even game in terms of numbers.
Wisconsin finished with 301 total yards and punted five times. Illinois finished with 298 yards and punted four times. Both teams punted five times. And the visitors actually recorded more first downs and less penalties.
It came down to third down efficiency and how each team recorded their yards.
Wisconsin ran for 209 yards on the ground with only 92 yards through the air. Illinois threw for 248 yards with only 50 yards on the ground.
The Badgers looked completely lifeless for most of the season and entered the game as 8.5-point underdogs. They defeated the Illini by a final score of 27-10.
College football tomfoolery helped to win the game.
Wisconsin running back Darrion Dupree went for 131 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Eugene Hilton helped to get him there.
The true freshman wide receiver completely fooled the Illinois secondary with high-IQ shenanigans!
Hilton (No. 13) was out in front of Illini defensive back Torrie Cox Jr. but he chose not to block. Cox had his head turned away from the line of scrimmage on what I can only assume was an RPO. Corners are typically coached not to look for the ball until the last possible second and to play the wide receiver’s body so he was not looking.
Well, Hilton noticed that he was not looking. He pretended to run a route as if he was going to catch the ball while Dupree scampered for a big gain behind him.
Never seen this- #13 Wisconsin True Freshman WR Eugene Hilton completely fakes Illinois defender that is covering him in man on this long run. pic.twitter.com/4OV7jcnaVZ
— Robert Smith (@Robert26Smith) November 26, 2025
The high-IQ trickery worked to perfection.
Perhaps Eugene Hilton learned the strategy from a viral TikTok video of a high school football game in Texas back in September. Perhaps he learned from Jaxson Smith-Njigba, who faked out two defenders against the New York Giants last season.
Incredible fake by Jaxon Smith-Njigba on this Geno Smith scramble. See Geno take off, takes the double team with him, and pretends he's getting thrown the ball. Clears the entire field for Geno to keep going. Kayvon Thibodeaux throws his hands up at the end. pic.twitter.com/Uzwz02MCif
— Shaun Newkirk (@Shauncore) October 7, 2024
Either way, I fully expect this to become a frequently used strategy in football moving forward. It could legitimately change the way defensive backs play defense!