Ever since the Big Ten expanded to 12 and eventually 14 teams in recent years, programs within the league do not have the luxury of playing every team every year in football. The cross-divisional games are largely random.
This is quite evident when it comes to Michigan and Wisconsin playing one another. The two played a tightly-contested, low-scoring affair a year ago in Ann Arbor, a 14-7 victory of the Wolverines. Prior to that meeting, the two had not played each other since 2010. And on Saturday, Michigan will make the trek up to Madison for the first time since 2009.
Seems like an eternity in this day and age, doesn’t it? Perhaps more amazingly, given the fact that these two don’t play each other as often, Michigan has not beaten Bucky in Madison since 2001. The Wolverines have dropped three straight on the road against Wisconsin.
So let’s flash back to November 17, 2001 for a refresher on that night in Madison. Michigan entered as the No. 11 ranked team in the country with a record of 7-2; Wisconsin was 5-5. A win for the Wolverines would have moved them one step closer to a Big Ten title. They found themselves in a game-long dogfight with Wisconsin, but managed to escape late, thanks to a field goal from Hayden Epstein with just seconds remaining to give Michigan a 20-17 win.
Michigan in this game logged just 163 total yards of offense. Sophomore quarterback John Navarre was 11/24 passing for 58 yards, one touchdown and one pick. Tailbacks B.J. Askew and Chris Perry combined for 111 yards rushing on 23 carries. And the hero Epstein was 2/3 on his field goal attempts in that game.
Michigan, unfortunately, lost their final game of the regular season to Ohio State, which gave them two losses in conference play. That opened the door for Illinois, who ironically lost to Michigan earlier in the year before rattling off seven straight wins to lock up the Big Ten crown.
This year’s matchup between Michigan and Wisconsin carries plenty of importance. The undefeated Badgers, ranked No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. They will welcome in a newly-ranked Michigan team, who still has an outside chance to make it to the Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis.
Michigan holds a commanding 50-14-1 series advantage all-time against Wisconsin, but the Badgers have won four of the last seven meetings. Kickoff is tabbed for noon ET and will be televised on FOX. Madison will be the site for College GameDay this weekend as well.
