In a rarity, Wisconsin football game isn’t one of Iowa’s most-anticipated

The fault is Wisconsin’s.

For such a long time, Iowa-Wisconsin football games have been highly anticipated in the two states.

Big Ten football had East and West divisions for 10 seasons, from 2014 to 2023. Wisconsin and Iowa were the best of the West with the Badgers winning the division four times and the Hawkeyes three. Five of their meetings in that time determined the division’s representative in the league’s championship game.

The West went 0-10 in those, but that’s another story.

The divisional format has gone the way of the two-lane highway between Cedar Rapids and Madison, and a spot in the Big Ten title game has grown more distant for both teams with league expansion. Especially Wisconsin, 0-2 in the Big Ten and 2-3 overal. That’s hard for Wisconsinites and the rest of us to wrap our minds around.

Good golly, the Badgers are ranked 116th in the nation in total rushing, and are last in the Big Ten in yards per rush at 3.1 yards. They used to fall out of bed in the morning and gain eight yards on a handoff to one of their countless star running backs.

Jonathan Taylor, now getting it done for the Indianapolis Colts, rushed for 6,174 over three seasons at Wisconsin. Melvin Gordon rushed for 408 yards in a 2014 game against Nebraska, and had 2,587 that season. Montee Ball rushed for 1,923 yards in 2011, and scored 39 touchdowns.

Through five games this year, the Badgers have 546 rushing yards as a team. That’s not Wisconsin football. Neither is losing 27-10 at home to Maryland.

So here we come to Saturday’s Hawkeyes-Badgers game, and it lacks juice. The best team either have defeated is Rutgers. Wisconsin hasn’t won in over a month. It says here that it is only the fifth-most interesting contest of Iowa’s remaining seven.

Counting down, going from least-intriguing to most-awaited:

7. Michigan State (Nov. 22): The Spartans could be on a four-game losing streak when they arrive at Kinnick Stadium. They’ll beat UCLA Saturday to get to 3-3, but will be underdogs against Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Penn State before facing the Hawkeyes.

6. Minnesota (Oct. 25): A semi-remarkable statistic is that the Gophers have won their last eight bowl games, easily the longest current streak in college football.

Yet, only one of P.J. Fleck’s Minnesota teams finished a season in the Top 25, and only three Gophers clubs have done so in the last 60 years.

Minnesota lost 42-3 at Ohio State last week. It’s a long way to the top (if you wanna rock n’ roll).

5. At Wisconsin (Saturday): The Wisconsin students will jump around between the third and fourth quarters. Whether they stick around for the final period remains to be seen.

4. At Nebraska (Nov. 28): One can only guess what the scenario will be for this regular-season finale.

The Huskers could be assured of their first regular-season winning record since 2016 by the time Black Friday rolls around. It’s kind of fun to remember the worst record they had in seven seasons with Bo Pelini as coach was 9-4, and Pelini went 22-10 in the Big Ten.

3. Penn State (Oct. 18): Had the Nittany Lions defeated Oregon and UCLA, this easily would be the best game Iowa has left.

Instead, it will be on Peacock.

2. At USC (Nov. 15): This could be the hardest game left on Iowa’s schedule. USC (4-1) is averaging 59 points in the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Iowa’s last regular-season win out west was at Arizona in 1987. Even before the Hawkeyes lost at Arizona in 2010, Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz ruled out future regular-season scheduling with Pac-12 teams.

"I can't envision us going anywhere else in the western time zone and making sense,“ he said then. "In a perfect world, I think I'd rather play a non-league game in a place where we'd recruit a little bit and being a more normal time zone.”

Then the Big Ten scooped up four Pac-12 schools. One was ...

1. Oregon (Nov. 8): The Ducks are unbeaten, and probably will be 8-0 when they come to Iowa City if they defeat Indiana in Eugene Saturday.

But will they quack up in Iowa? They wouldn’t be the first team ranked third or higher (Penn State in 2008, Michigan in 2016, Ohio State in 2017) to lose in Kinnick in November.

Comments: mike.hlas@thegazette.com, (319) 398-8840