Building A Rivalry: Wisconsin Football vs. Michigan State

“They better get season tickets right now because, before long, they probably won’t be able to.”

Barry Alvarez’s statement during his introductory 1990 press conference announcing him as the head football coach of the University of Wisconsin was viewed as either bold visionary or complete buffoonery. After all, UW was coming off five consecutive losing seasons, was a combined 6-27 in the three seasons under previous head coach Don Morton and was a program that had its fans giving away tickets to the 1989 season opener against No.3 Miami (spoiler, UW lost 51-3).

Many fans likely thought Alvarez was in over his head when the Badgers went 1-10 his first season, but the groundwork was being laid that season for what has been – for the most part – 30 years of success.

Starting with Alvarez’s 16 seasons (1990-2005) and extending to Bret Bielema’s seven years (‘06-‘12), Gary Andersen’s brief tenure (‘13-‘14) and, now, Paul Chryst (‘15-present), Wisconsin has been one of the more successful programs in the Big Ten. The program has won six conference championships, been to seven Rose Bowls and won 15 bowl games. Most importantly, the Badgers have either swung momentum in Big Ten series, completely dominating conference teams or closed the gap against some of the league’s heavyweights.

To understand how impressive Wisconsin’s run of success has been in the Big Ten, BadgerBlitz will examine UW’s series against 11 Big Ten opponents, looking at where it was and how it has evolved over four different Badgers coaches (Note: for this exercise, we are not including UW’s conference games against Maryland and Rutgers. The Badgers are 3-0 against each school and have outscored them a combined 137-71 in those six games).

Today, we examine UW’s series against the Michigan State Spartans.

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Before the Spartans joined the Big Ten conference in 1950, Wisconsin had little trouble with them. Although dropping the inaugural game in 1913, Wisconsin won the other four meetings by a combined score of 76-16. Even when the schools first met as conference opponents, fifth-ranked UW delivered a 6-0 shutout. Prosperity would not last.

From 1955-78, Wisconsin won just two meetings (by two and three points). Of the 13 games the Spartans won, Michigan State held the Badgers to seven points or fewer 11 times (six by shutout). Things turned around once UW beat No.19 Michigan State in ’79, winning four of the next five, but the Spartans headed into the ‘90s winning five in a row by margins of 34, 10, 21, 36 and 28 points.

The losing streak reached eight games for Wisconsin until the Badgers broke through with their ’93 win in Tokyo to clinch a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship. That run started a streak of success for the Badgers, who have won 12 of their last 19 against the Spartans (one by forfeit). Even in the last decade, after Mark Dantonio elevated the program to Big Ten championship level, the Badgers went 3-3 against the program and were a Hail Mary and an overtime away from being 5-1.

Beginning his head coaching career leading teams to 1-10, 5-6 and 5-6 records, Alvarez is on record saying he felt he owed his players – especially his upperclassmen – a special game. After all, UW hadn’t been to a bowl game since 1984. That’s part of the reason he was intrigued by the chance to finish the 1993 season in Tokyo. Michigan State was the party initially interested in playing in the Coca-Cola Classic (put on annually since 1977) but didn’t want to give up a home game to do it.

With the blessing of his players and UW chancellor Donna Shalala, the Badgers moved their October home game against the Spartans to early December in Tokyo. Out of the deal, UW got a guarantee $400,000 to help shrink the department’s deficit and roughly 200 airplane tickets. There was no way of knowing that the school’s biggest “home” game in decades was going to be played 8,000 miles away and that UW was going to likely lose upwards of $100K for not having the game at what would have been a sold-out Camp Randall.

Having 22 days between their second-to-last game (a win at Illinois) and the Tokyo Bowl, Wisconsin was able to recuperate, prepare and practice later in the evening to start adjusting to the time change. The plan worked.

Quarterback Darrell Bevell completed 14 of 19 passes for 239 yards, Lee DeRamus caught five balls for 95 yards and tailbacks Terrell Fletcher and Brent Moss combined for 260 yards and both scored twice, three of which came in a 21-point second quarter. Wisconsin cruised to a 41-20 win and became co-champions of the Big Ten since 1962. By Big Ten tiebreakers, the Badgers were extended an invitation to the Rose Bowl.

“I've had some huge successes in my life, but to be sitting here 9-1-1 and going to the Rose Bowl, it just hasn't sunk in yet,” Alvarez said. “It's mind-boggling.”

There have been some memorable games between the two programs over the last two decades. UW saw two seasons with national championship hopes derailed in East Lansing. The first being in 2004 with the fourth-ranked Badgers suffering an ugly 49-14 beatdown as the hands of a Michigan State team that finished 5-7 and lost four of its last five. Seven seasons later, Keith Nichol was given a touchdown upon replay review to shock fourth-ranked UW at the horn. The Badgers got their revenge later in the season with their own Hail Mary, as Russell Wilson connected with Jeff Duckworth to set the winning score in the inaugural Big Ten championship game.

The last two meetings have started to show separation. Redshirt freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook’s stellar play in his first career start and three interceptions by UW’s defense led to a 30-6 victory in East Lansing over the eighth-ranked Spartans in 2016. Last season, the Badgers throttled the Spartans, 38-0, in Madison.

Dantonio retired abruptly this offseason and former Wisconsin defensive back Mel Tucker (’95) has taken the helm. The two schools won’t face each other again until 2022.

Wisconsin’s overall record vs Michigan State pre-Alvarez: 12-20

Wisconsin’s record vs. the Spartans since 1990: 12-10

The Alvarez Years: 7-6

The Bielema Years: 3-4

The Andersen Years: 0-0

The Chryst Years: 2-0