Has Wisconsin ever faced Alabama in football? The limited history of the Badgers against the Crimson Tide
When the Wisconsin Badgers welcome the Alabama Crimson Tide to town Saturday, it won’t be the first time the SEC powerhouse has played in Madison … but you have to go back nearly a century to find the last occasion.
The two schools have only met twice overall, and most fans will remember the most recent. On Sept. 5, 2015, Alabama defeated Wisconsin, 35-17, in a game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home to the Dallas Cowboys — and a generally pleasant place to play for the Green Bay Packers, who are 6-0 in the building since it was built in 2009.
The only other meeting took place in Madison on Nov. 3, 1928, a 15-0 win for the Badgers. The two programs will meet this season and next, with a 2025 clash on the books at Alabama.
Wisconsin Badgers running back Dare Ogunbowale (23) gains yardage against Alabama Crimson Tide defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson (54) and Alabama Crimson Tide defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand (9) during Wisconsin’s 35-17 loss to Alabama during the football season opener Saturday, September 5, 2015 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
What happened in Wisconsin’s 2015 loss to Alabama?
At the time the game was announced in 2013, the Crimson Tide had won the previous two BCS national championships and three of the previous four. The four-team playoff format began in 2014.
It turned into a wild baptism by fire for the team’s first-year head coach, Paul Chryst, whose team would ultimately finish the season 10-3 and ranked No. 21 in the country, with a bowl-game win in the Holiday Bowl to cap the season.
Alabama came into the battle No. 3 in the country and, sure enough, went on to finish 14-1 and win another national title, toppling Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl and Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, 45-40, behind a three-touchdown performance from Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry.
Henry was equally lethal against Wisconsin, rushing for 147 yards and three touchdowns. Kenyan Drake, a future Packer, added 77 yards rushing and a score, while Wisconsin’s top rusher was receiver Alex Erickson, with one carry for 25 yards.
Wisconsin also found itself battling injuries, including to safety Michael Caputo, lost on the fourth play of the game. Inside linebacker Leon Jacobs was also hobbled by a foot injury. But even at full strength, Wisconsin had its work cut out for it. Joel Stave did complete 14 of 16 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns, and Wisconsin was within 14-7 at halftime.
Erickson and Rob Wheelwright scored the touchdowns for the Badgers.
What happened in the Badgers win over the Crimson Tide in 1928?
The Crimson Tide weren’t a pushover then, having two recent Rose Bowl appearances (one victory) on its resume, but this was still three decades before Bear Bryant launched the program to another level and five years from the birth of the Southeastern Conference.
Believe it or not, Alabama has only lost one time to a school from the Big Ten (or its predecessor conferences) in the regular season, and the Badgers game was it. Alabama has lost five times in postseason play, including in last year’s Rose Bowl game against Michigan.
Alabama governor Bibb Graves was one of the 28,000 fans in attendance, sitting with Wisconsin then-governor Fred Zimmerman.
The contest started ominously when star tackle Milo Lubratovich broke his leg on the first play of the game. Harold Smith scored a touchdown from 17 yards out, but his extra-point try hit off the upright in the final moments of the first quarter. In the third quarter, the Badgers executed a triple pass, leaving Bo Cuisinier free around left end for a touchdown.
Cuisinier’s lengthy second-half kickoff return also enabled a field goal from August Backus.
Wisconsin finished the year 7-1-1 under second-year coach Glenn Thistlethwaite.
When was the last time an SEC team came to Camp Randall Stadium?
Wisconsin has hosted only three other SEC teams at Camp Randall Stadium, and none since LSU came to play Sept. 25, 1971.
The 1928 game against Alabama and a 1931 game against Auburn are the only other examples. Wisconsin, of course, played LSU again at Lambeau Field in Green Bay to open the 2016 season, an uplifting 16-14 victory for the Badgers, and the teams met in 2014 at NRG Stadium in Houston, a gut-punch 28-24 loss.
The Badgers have faced SEC teams 11 times in bowl games, posting a 3-8 record.
Wisconsin has only played in an SEC team’s home venue once, meeting LSU in a 27-7 loss in 1972. that will change in 2025, when the second half of the home-and-home agreement with Alabama will place Wisconsin in Tuscaloosa at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sept. 13.
