Michigan vs Wisconsin: Series History

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on September 17th, 2019 at 5:13 PM

Now we get into the real season.

It's time to buckle that chinstrap even tighter and get ready to wreck people. It's B1G season.

Wisconsin has been Michigan's conference opener 20 times throughout history. Michigan has enjoyed great success going 18-2 against Wisconsin with the most recent B1G opener meeting in 2008, a 27-25 Michigan comeback win after going down 19-0 at halftime. We will not discuss anymore details about that season. 

Michigan and Wisconsin were two of the founding seven members of the conference, then named-Intercollegiate Conference of Factory Representatives but unofficially it was the Western Conference.  

But get this: they also were adversaries in another conference prior to the birth of the B1G: the short-lived Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest (IAANW)

The first conference game in program history was against Wisconsin waaaaay back on October 15, 1892 when the Wolverines took out the Badgers 10-6 in the IAANW opener.


TALE OF THE TAPE


SERIES HISTORY

Source: Michigan Football SuperGuide 
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WolverineHistorian

September 17th, 2019 at 11:34 PM ^

A friend of mine went to that game.  She told me it was scary in the final minutes, as if the stadium was literally shaking as the fans were getting ready to storm the field.  Wisconsin had not beaten us in forever and they hadn't had a notable win in a long time.  

This was the game where several drunken Badger fans leaned too hard against the guard rail, which broke and they fell forward on to the field.  I'm surprised nobody was killed.  Then when the fans were storming the field, three people were nearly trampled to death in the madness.  

Magnum P.I.

September 18th, 2019 at 10:44 AM ^

Yeah, there were always one-off losses to low-talent programs like Iowa and Wisconsin, but they were exceptions to the rule. I remember us losing to Illinois (Illinois!) at home when I was in college. But we were massive favorites in those games. And when teams like Iowa and Wisconsin and Illinois would manage to take one off of us, it would only bring their record to like 1-9 or 2-8 in the previous 10 meetings. 

Maximinus Thrax

September 17th, 2019 at 5:42 PM ^

I remember that stretch from 97-02, which largely corresponds to my time in A2.  Wisconsin would waltz in with Ron Dayne and a bunch of hype and Michigan would emerge victorious.  Let's get back to that