The Northwestern Wildcats of Evanston, Illinois, have been the most frequent foes to the Wisconsin Badgers’ Homecoming heroes, playing in 18 of the UW’s 115 Homecoming games to date. We can hardly blame you for not knowing this off the top of your head, seeing as the Wildcats’ last UW Homecoming was in 2013, making this the longest stretch between appearances since their first in 1943. That game ended in a heartbreaking 0–41 loss for the Badgers, and while it took them three more attempts to secure their first Homecoming win against the Wildcats (a 24–20 victory in 1952), the Badgers currently lead their Homecoming series 10–8. Other frequent UW Homecoming opponents include Purdue (16 appearances), Iowa (15), Illinois (14), and Indiana (12). Alternatively, one-hit wonders of UW Homecoming history include UPenn in 1930 (27–0 Badgers), San Diego State in 1980 (35–12 Badgers), Western Michigan in 1981 (21–10 Badgers), University of Toledo in 1982 (36–27 Badgers), Rutgers in 2023 (24–13 Badgers), and Penn State in 2024 (13–28 Nittany Lions). This year’s game against Michigan State marks the Badgers’ ninth Homecoming game against the Spartans in a series the Spartans lead 6–2. As they said in Ancient Greece, let the games begin.

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