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Wisconsin Football: How has Wisconsin fared historically vs. Illinois?

By Christian Borman

CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 19: Illinois Fighting Illini band conductor watches against the Wisconsin Badgers in the first half of the game at Memorial Stadium on October 19, 2019 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 19: Illinois Fighting Illini band conductor watches against the Wisconsin Badgers in the first half of the game at Memorial Stadium on October 19, 2019 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Wisconsin football takes on Illinois this Friday. This series history goes quite a ways back.

Illinois and Wisconsin football goes a long ways back. They first met back on October 26, 1895, where the game ended in a 10-10 tie.

Generally, this is a relatively even series. Wisconsin football leads the entire series 42-37-7. Up until last season, the Badgers were actually on a series-best nine-game winning streak from 2008-2018. That streak allowed them to gain a 42-36-7 advantage in the series. Unfortunately, that streak ended last year, when the Fighting Illini defeated the Badgers at Illinois on a last-second field goal, to win the game 24-23.

The Badgers’ largest losing streak to the Illini was six games from 1987 to 1992. Since that streak, the Badgers and Illini have played 23 times, and the Badgers have an 18-4-1 record against Illinois.

Before Wisconsin football lost to Illinois last season, their last loss was to the 2007 Illini team. Wisconsin was ranked 5th in the country when Juice Williams and Rashard Mendenhall took down the Badgers 31-26 in Champaign. That Illinois team went on and defeated the number one ranked Ohio State Buckeyes a few weeks later and went to the Rose Bowl.

The home record in this series for the Wisconsin football team is 23-16-4, while their record on the road is 18-21-3.

The Badgers’ largest margin of victory in the series was a 55-7 win in 1961, while their smallest margin of victory was a 7-6 win in 1965.

Wisconsin also averages 19.24 points per game throughout the series. However, in the past 10 games, the Badgers have averaged 34.8 points per game and have given up 17.8 points per game. A difference of 17.0 points per game.

Success within the last 25 years has really turned this series around. The Badgers have been in the driver’s seat really since Barry Alvarez took over this Wisconsin football program. The Badgers will look to start a new winning streak this Friday when the Fighting Illini come to town to start the Big Ten regular season.