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Wisconsin Badgers at risk of invigorating unsettling streak against Indiana Hoosiers

For multiple decades, a Wisconsin Badgers win over the Indiana Hoosiers felt automatic. This week's matchup against the No. 2 team in the country feels like the opposite.
Lorin Cox|
Dec 5, 2020; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Ty Fryfogle (3) catches a pass between Wisconsin Badgers cornerback Caesar Williams (21) and safety Scott Nelson (9) during the third quarter at Camp Randall Stadium.
Dec 5, 2020; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Ty Fryfogle (3) catches a pass between Wisconsin Badgers cornerback Caesar Williams (21) and safety Scott Nelson (9) during the third quarter at Camp Randall Stadium. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

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For multiple decades, a Wisconsin Badgers win over the Indiana Hoosiers felt automatic.

This week's matchup against the No. 2 team in the country feels like the opposite.

Wisconsin is at major risk of completely flipping the tide in the rivalry against Indiana that has been one-sided in the Badgers favor since the 1990s.

The Badgers won 10 in a row against the Hoosiers from 2005 to 2017.

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Indiana has won the last two matchups but both were one-score games.

Most recently in 2023, Wisconsin came up short in its late comeback attempt for a 20-14 loss in Bloomington. Quarterback Braedyn Locke threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns, but two fourth quarter fumbles did the Badgers in.

The loss in 2020 was also a low-scoring affair, 14-6. Graham Mertz and the Badgers failed to find the endzone despite holding Indiana to just 217 yards of total offense.

Since 1993, Wisconsin is 16-4 against Indiana, and UW scored more than 50 points in eight of those wins.

It has been a dominant, one-sided rivalry over the last 30-plus years. Luke Fickell's squad can't let Indiana shift that tide.

It might not be fair to expect the Badgers to pull off the upset of the season against one of the top teams in the country.

But coming off of an important win over the Washington Huskies, Wisconsin needs to put up a real fight against the Hoosiers and not let them establish the start of a long winning streak of their own in this matchup.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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