As the 2019 season brings to a close another decade of college football, Badgers Wire has been engaged in a series of reflective pieces. “Record Review” is another series examining how the Badgers have fared against the rest of the Big Ten this past decade. Next up is an examination of the Badgers’ record against one of the NCAA’s more successful football teams of all time, Penn State. Like their rivalry with the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Badgers haven’t been able to hit the sweet spot very often against the Nittany Lions. If they want to get over the hump and compete for regular chances at a national title, they have to start winning these games.
Using Stassen, Badgers Wire pulled up every result against Penn State in the 2010s. The Badgers didn’t play the Nittany Lions in 2019 and are 1-5 against them in the decade. They’re 1-1 against them at home. They beat Penn State 45-7 in their lone win. The losses are close. These are winnable games, often decided by a possession or two. If you remove the 45-7 win, the scoring total for these two teams is 115-86 in favor of Penn State, spread out over five games. That’s an average margin of defeat of just under six points per game for Wisconsin. The Badgers aren’t getting blown out in these losses, but they aren’t closing the sale.
This series represents a microcosm of Wisconsin’s Big Ten success and overall track record. The Badgers have no problems beating the rest of the Big Ten, but when it comes to Penn State and Ohio State, there is room for improvement. The toughest loss for the Badgers in their series against PSU this past decade was the loss to Penn State in the 2016 Big Ten Championship Game. Bucky had the lead going into the fourth quarter, but then let Penn State score 10 unanswered points. The Nittany Lions stole the victory. That could have been another conference championship and something to build on, but the Badgers squandered the moment — at one point they led 28-7 — and it became yet another loss in the conference championship game this past decade when they played generally well but couldn’t finish.
This may sound like the same song you’ve heard before, but it’s a fitting song for the Badgers. That song is titled, “They need to win these games.” These games bring the recruits and impress the voters to even greater degrees than the already-high standard Wisconsin has set. These games help programs compete for national titles instead of New Year’s Six bowls. These are the games Wisconsin is having trouble winning in the modern era, and it simply must change in the 2020s if the Badgers want to raise their ceiling even higher.