BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin has won 13 consecutive Big Ten Conference football games vs. Purdue, a streak that looks to be one-sided.
The Badgers have won eight of the meetings by 20 or more points, including one by 45, one by 37, one by 31 and one by 29. They've prevailed twice by rushing for 300-plus yards. They've won twice with 500-plus yards of total offense. They've triumphed once thanks to a 300-yard passing day. They've survived once thanks to five takeaways.
In those 13 matchups going back to 2004, they've been ranked nine times and the Boilermakers once.
But there's reason for caution when No. 14 Wisconsin (8-2 overall, 5-2 in the Big Ten) hosts Purdue (4-6, 3-4) on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Camp Randall Stadium.
Go back to the four meetings before the streak began. Both teams won twice. All the games were decided by one score, including one in overtime. Both clubs were ranked in two of the encounters.
Now look at the last two games of the series. Both were decided by one score, including a triple-overtime affair last November.
Now consider the fact the Boilermakers have lost games to teams a combined 42-18 overall (Nevada 6-4, TCU 5-5, Minnesota 9-1, Penn State 9-1, Iowa 7-3 and Illinois 6-4) and three of those setbacks were by one score.
Here are five more things to know:
Mr. Amazing
Wisconsin junior tailback Jonathan Taylor has 5,634 career rushing yards over the last three-plus seasons (37 games). That's more than six Big Ten teams during that span (Purdue 4,461, Rutgers 4,662, Indiana 4,786, Michigan State 5,037, Iowa 5,109 and Northwestern 5,528). That's also more than prominent Power Five programs like Tennessee (4,288), West Virginia (4,652), USC (5,580) and Stanford (5,323).
Three of a Kind, Part I
Taylor is coming off consecutive 200-yard outings vs. Iowa (250) and Nebraska (204). He's looking to join Billy Marek (1974), Ron Dayne (1996 and '99) and Melvin Gordon (2014) as the only backs in program history to string together three straight 200-yard performances.
Three of a Kind, Part II
Taylor has faced the Boilermakers twice with dramatic success. He had 219 rushing yards on 30 carries as a freshman in 2017. He had a 321 yards on 33 attempts — both career highs — as a sophomore in 2018. Taylor is fresh off his third straight 200-yard outing vs. Nebraska, becoming the first Badger to ever tag the same opponent for 200 yards three times. That he could repeat the feat in consecutive weeks is astounding. His next 200-yard performance would be his 12th, tying him with Ricky Williams of Texas for second place on the all-time Football Bowl Subdivision list behind UW legend Ron Dayne, who has 14.
Rare Opportunity
Senior inside linebacker Chris Orr and senior outside linebacker Zack Baun are among the national leaders in sacks with 10.0 and 9.5, respectively. They're vying to become the second duo in Wisconsin history to reach double digits in the same season. Tarek Saleh had 14.0 and Bryan Jurewicz 10.0 in 1996.
The Very Beginning
Wisconsin played its first-ever football game on Nov. 23, 1889, dropping a 27-0 decision to the Calumet Club in Milwaukee. It's crazy to think how fast 130 years have gone by.
