Nobody will confuse Penn State and Wisconsin for bitter rivals, but the two programs have had a tight series since Penn State joined the Big Ten with plenty of notable moments. Wisconsin was among the Big Ten schools Penn State had rarely faced until they joined the Big Ten in 1993, but it was not until the 1995 season that these two have met on the football field as Big Ten opponents. Since then, the series has been nearly as even as they come, although Penn State holds the slight edge.
Penn State’s all-time series with Wisconsin is one of the tightest the Nittany Lions have against Big Ten opponents. Penn State is 10-9 all-time against the Badgers. Penn State owns a narrow 17-16-1 all-time series lead against Michigan State.
Penn State hosted Wisconsin in 1995 for the first Big Ten meeting between the two. At the time, Penn State and Wisconsin were the two most recent Big Ten champions, with the Badgers going to the Rose Bowl in the 1993 season and Penn State going undefeated in 1994. The Badgers snapped Penn State’s 20-game winning streak in Joe Paterno’s 500th career game.
Penn State owns the most important meeting in the series, however, and is the only one to be played on a neutral field. Penn State topped Wisconsin in the 2016 Big Ten Championship Game to capture the program’s fourth Big Ten championship (1994, 2005, 2008, 2016), and its first Big Ten Championship Game victory.
The Nittany Lions enter this season opener as an underdog, but one that is riding a four-game winning streak in the series as well. It’s been a decade since the last Penn State loss to Wisconsin. Will the streak continue as the 2021 season gets underway?
Here’s a quick look at the all-time series notes for Penn State and Wisconsin.
All-time series record: Penn State leads 10-9
Current win streak: 4, Penn State
Last meeting: Nov. 10, 2018, No. 12 Penn State 22, Wisconsin 10
Last meeting in Madison, WI: Nov. 30, 2013, Penn State 31, No. 15 Wisconsin 24
[listicle id=5426]
[lawrence-related id=5988,5983,5875,5601,5378]
Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.
[vertical-gallery id=5331]