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Game 42: Iowa @ Purdue

With no Wisconsin games on the schedule, a trip to Purdue was scheduled to ameliorate the symptoms of withdrawal. On this Halloween day, parking was not terribly difficult to find, but my father insisted on using our grandmother’s handicapped parking permit to be closer to Ross-Ade Stadium. However, the handicap lot was quite a distance from the venue and we learned that disabled individuals received a golf cart ride up to the stadium. We all got a laugh as dad, featuring a Wisconsin hat, hopped aboard the S.S. Cripple and buzzed up the hill toward the game.

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Game 40: Purdue @ #12 Wisconsin

This aint your daddy’s Purdue. Boilermaker coach Joe Tiller infested the Big Ten with an open aerial attack that turned three yards and a cloud of dust into eighty yards and a streak of steam. Due to the success of his system, led by pilot Drew Brees, the rest of the conference has been forced to conform and break from the conservative mold manufactured by the likes of Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler.

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Game 39: Northwestern @ #14 Wisconsin

Starting a game with an onside kick raises questions. Northwestern coach Gary Barnett has stamped his program with moves like these and it has led him to back-to-back Big Ten championships. However the magic that “took the purple to Pasadena” has been flickering and his bag of tricks has become less ingenious and more a means of survival. He must have known that his Wildcats were outmatched.

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Game 38: UNLV @ #14 Wisconsin

Call it a come from behind victory without the dramatics of the 1997 season. UNLV came in to Camp Randall Stadium wearing a Boise State outfit, but you can’t copy an original. Everyone (except the newly hazed freshmen) thought of last year’s dreadful game with Boise State when on Wisconsin’s opening drive, QB Mike Samuel had his pass intercepted at the line of scrimmage and returned half of the field for a touchdown. Against Boise State, the opening play was a fumble return TD for the Broncos and it took three quarters for the Badgers to recover.

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Game 34: Wisconsin @ Minnesota

The Badgers had popped into the top 25 with their six game win streak. But, a stumble at Purdue last week dropped them from the elite. I chose to drive up to Minneapolis with my parents on their annual road trip to a Wisconsin game. The Metrodome holds dark memories for me. 1993 was my last visit and we witnessed a Badger loss – their only one of that season. I was hoping to take something positive away from the Twin Cities this year.

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Game 33: Illinois @ Wisconsin

With the past two games being heart-halting victories for Wisconsin, Camp Randall Stadium was packed and ready early anxious to see what the next installment of Badger drama would arise. With the winless Illini coming to Madison, most hoped that it wouldn’t take another last second prayer to succeed. Luckily, the red-clad faithful got just what they expected. And by the looks of Illinois, so did they.

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