Wisconsin Badgers Football: Battle for the Heartland
The Wisconsin Badgers travel to Iowa in a B1G West showdown at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday and will play for the heartland trophy.
No conference in America has more trophy games than the Big Ten. Everything from Paul Bunyan’s axe to the Old Oaken Bucket, the Floyd of Rosedale, $5 Bits of Broken Chair, and even an Old Brass Spittoon.  These trophies adorn the sidelines in rivalry games each year, with teams making all necessary sacrifices on the field to say they hoisted it high when the clock struck zero.
For the 96th time, Iowa and Wisconsin will face off this weekend and play for their own piece of hardware, the Heartland Trophy. Â Weighing in at a whopping 72 pounds, this brass bull, which has only been exchanged between the two schools since 2004, appears to represent the toughness and grit that exists between these two hard-hitting, smash-mouth, run-first football teams.
Wisconsin leads the all-time series 49-44-2, with the Badgers winning eight of the last 10 meetings. Â Perhaps most surprising for those that think of Kinnick Stadium as a tough road test, the Badgers have fared very well there of late, winning five of the last six meetings in Iowa City.
The rivalry between these two schools is undeniable, with both teams having won meaningful matchups against their neighboring state rivals along the way. Â Iowa fans no doubt relished the game in 2005, where the Hawkeyes spoiled the last home game of famed coach Barry Alvarez, the godfather of the modern Wisconsin program and former assistant coach to Hayden Fry. Â Wisconsin fans, on the other hand, can all remember where they were on November 13, 1999, when Ron Dayne broke the all-time NCAA rushing record while en route to a 41-3 drubbing of the rival Hawkeyes and a berth in the Rose Bowl.
Saturday's matchup
This year’s battle may not have serious standing implications or produce historic moments, but it is a chance for both programs to keep their season moving in a positive direction. Both teams sit at 5-4 (3-3 in conference), with the winner of this game maintaining an outside chance of winning the Big Ten West depending on how Illinois fares the next few weeks. The loser is eliminated and will still have work to do to become bowl eligible.
Neither Wisconsin nor Iowa will wow fans with offensive prowess, especially with the production levels on the defensive side of the ball. The game may not be pretty, and the chances of a 9-6 low-scoring thriller are higher than you might think. Â However pretty or ugly this game ends up being, whatever the score, one of these two teams will proudly hoist the 72-pound trophy at the end and claim one more year of bragging rights in this historic Midwest rivalry.
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