It has now been 17 days since the Wisconsin Badgers throttled the Illinois Fighting Illini 45-7 and started their season 1-0.
After their Week 2 game against Nebraska and Week 3 game against Purdue were canceled due to COVID-19 cases within the program, things seem to now be taking a turn with Saturday’s game against the Michigan Wolverines, at this point, set to be played.
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The Wolverines sit at 1-2 on the year after opening their season with a decisive win against Minnesota, losing as more than 20-point favorites against Michigan State and this weekend falling 38-21 against Michael Penix Jr. and the 3-0 Indiana Hoosiers.
The Badgers have taken the field against the Wolverines 68 times in their history. After their win last year, the all-time series sits at 51-16-1 in favor of Michigan.
Much of those wins, however, came back in the 1960s, 70s and 80s when the Maize and Blue went on a 23-1 run.
Recent history has seen the power shift a bit, with the Badgers boasting a 6-4 edge since 2005.
The most recent contests between the two teams have formed a clear pattern of the home team coming out on top–with Chryst and company losing in Ann Arbor in 2016, winning in Madison in 2017, losing in Ann Arbor in 2018 and winning in Madison again in 2019.
Yes, this year’s game will be played in the Big House, but given the Wolverines being 1-2 and looking far-from-dominant on both sides of the football and the Badgers having missed their last two games–it’s anybody’s guess who holds the edge entering the contest.
Going through the two teams’ all-time records, here are some other facts to note:
- Michigan has the most wins in college football history
- Wisconsin bests them in one area: Bowl record
- Michigan’s largest margin of victory in the series is 56-0 back in 1977
- Wisconsin’s largest margin of victory is 34-12 back in 1962
- Michigan has the second-most national championships of all time, the third-most conference championships, the third-most consensus All-Americans, the fourth-highest all-time winning percentage and the fifth-most Heisman winners and NFL Draft picks
- Michigan will be without defensive leader Aidan Hutchinson this weekend after he suffered an ankle injury against Indiana