BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — You could argue with ease that the most painful Big Ten Conference rivalry for the Wisconsin football team over the last 30 years has been with Northwestern.
They've met 24 times since 1990 and while the Badgers have the edge, winning 13 of those games, and lined up as the higher-ranked team in 15 of those encounters, many of their losses have been unforgettably epic.
In its football history, dating back to 1889, Wisconsin is 164-2 when scoring 40 or more points in a game. Incredibly, both losses came courtesy of the Wildcats during this time frame (2000 and '05).
Since 1990, the Badgers are 167-14 when scoring 30 or more points in a game. Five of those setbacks have come at the hands of Northwestern.
The iconic Barry Alvarez coaching era began in 1990 with a 44-34 loss to the Wildcats and ended in 2005 with a 51-48 defeat.
In between, a late turnover in 1992 led to a bitter 27-25 loss that cost Wisconsin its first bowl bid under Alvarez; a 35-0 defeat in 1995 was the first of only two shutout losses in Big Ten play during the Alvarez Era; and a 47-44 setback in 2000 marked the first time the Badgers lost in overtime.
More torment: Wisconsin has lost to the Wildcats as the higher-ranked team six times since 1990 (2000, '03, '05, '09, '14, '18).
But there has been some dramatic give and take in the series. Perhaps the biggest emotional swing came in 1996 and '97 when the Badgers exacted some revenge for a brutal, costly outcome.
Wisconsin won its first three outings in '96 before late-game stumbles led to three-point losses to third-ranked Penn State (23-20) and second-rated Ohio State (17-14). That gave way to a matchup with the No. 14 Wildcats at Camp Randall Stadium.
Ron Dayne (33)
The Badgers led 30-27 with 1 minute, 33 seconds left when a fumbled exchange from junior quarterback Mike Samuel and freshman running back Ron Dayne was recovered by Northwestern. Two plays later, with 37 seconds remaining, the Wildcats scored the go-ahead touchdown and went on to claim a share of a second straight Big Ten title with Ohio State.
"One of the toughest losses I've ever been through," said Alvarez, who endured 74 of them during his 16-season, Hall of Fame tenure as Wisconsin coach.
Payback, which came 50 weeks later, was exquisite.
The Badgers opened the '97 season with a 34-0 loss to Syracuse in the Kickoff Classic, an eye-opening performance that prompted Alvarez and his staff to make a host of lineup changes. A six-game winning streak ensued, one that included three last-second victories.
One came in the home opener against Boise State. Wisconsin, playing without an injured Dayne, trailed in the final minute to a non-conference opponent that would finish 5-6 overall, but Samuel converted two crucial third downs on the decisive drive and scored on a 12-yard run with 49 seconds left to pull out a 28-24 win.
Another came in the Big Ten opener versus Indiana. The Hoosiers scored 17 points off turnovers and took a 26-24 lead with 53 seconds left, but a clutch fourth-down pass from Samuel to Tony Simmons set up junior walk-on Matt Davenport for a 43-yard field goal with 6 seconds left that produced a 27-26 victory.
That gave way to a trip to Northwestern, where the Badgers had lost four of their last five outings. They looked to be on the brink of more heartache at Ryan Field, but senior linebacker David Lysek forced a late turnover, Samuel ran for 23 yards and passed to Simmons for 28 more, setting up Davenport for a 48-yard field goal with 6 seconds remaining that made for a 26-25 triumph.
"I've never been in a more draining game than this one," Samuel said after the teams swapped the lead eight times and he threw for a career-best 271 yards.
It marked the only time in Wisconsin history that it recorded consecutive one-point wins. Both came courtesy of Davenport, a supremely confident junior-college transfer who more than lived up to his "Money" nickname.
Throughout the week of practice leading up to the trip to Evanston, Illinois, Alvarez invoked images of a heavyweight championship fight. That's what the series had become during the 1990s after years of both programs getting bullied. The only Big Ten teams to put together repeat championships during the decade of the '90s were Michigan (1990, '91, '92), Northwestern (1995, '96) and Wisconsin (1998, '99).
"This is the way it's going to be," Alvarez told his players. "It's going to be toe-to-toe. We're going to slug it out. It's going to be 15 rounds unless somebody flinches. And we're not going to flinch."
Tony Simmons (82)
Wisconsin stayed on its collective feet despite three turnovers, five sacks, seven penalties and a series of costly gaffes on special teams. The Wildcats blocked an extra-point attempt, recorded a safety off a blocked punt and scored a touchdown when an errant snap sailed over the head of freshman punter Kevin Stemke and was recovered in the end zone.
Who knew that replacing a long snapper would be so difficult? That was the case after sophomore Mike Schneck was lost to a dislocated elbow sustained while celebrating Davenport's winning kick vs. Indiana.
A year after going 0-3 in games decided by four points or less, the Badgers were 3-0 after their latest heart-stopping comeback.
Do you believe in karma?
"I think maybe fate's in our corner," Lysek said.
"I just believe in hard work and that it pays off," sophomore linebacker Donnel Thompson said. "I think that's what's happening right now."
During the 2½-hour bus ride from Madison to Evanston the night before the game, Wisconsin players, coaches and support staffers watched the Academy Award-winning documentary "When We Were Kings." The film, released in 1996, chronicles the days leading up to the 1974 heavyweight championship fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire.
"They're fighters," Alvarez said of his players, explaining his rationale for the cinematic choice. "And there's such a thing as learning how to win and expecting to win and doing what you have to do to win."
