Iowa and Wisconsin are getting the kind of stage this rivalry was built for.
The Hawkeyes and Badgers will meet on October 31 at 11 a.m. CT on FOX, putting the Battle for the Heartland in the national window right where it belongs. The matchup at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City will also be shown on the FOX Sports App.
For a series that has long leaned into the rugged, old-school side of Big Ten football, the timing fits. Iowa and Wisconsin have shared some dull stretches in recent years, but the matchup still carries the feel of a classic conference grind: run-heavy plans, defense first, and a game that just looks right when it’s played in the late-fall Midwest.
FOX Big Noon Kickoff is set to be in Iowa City, giving the Hawkeyes another national spotlight. The network has now featured Iowa twice this season, after ESPN College GameDay came to town earlier in the year for the Ohio State game.
This year’s meeting also comes with some recent history behind it. Iowa leads the all-time series 49-48-2, while the last 10 matchups are split 5-5.
The Hawkeyes have won the last four in the rivalry and have taken the last two by a combined 79-10. That stretch includes a 42-10 home win in 2024 and a 37-0 road win last year at Camp Randall.
The most recent result in the rivalry was Iowa’s 37-0 win over Wisconsin on October 11, 2025, in Madison.
There’s a little extra shape to this one, too. Iowa enters at 5-1 and still has a trip to Minnesota before facing Wisconsin. The Badgers are 4-2 and will host USC before heading to Iowa City.
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Wisconsins new football front office already has a familiar connection to one of the NFLs more respected talent evaluators. The Badgers recently hired Morocco Brown as Football General Manager, and Brown comes from the Chris Ballard tree after working under the former Indianapolis Colts GM, who was relieved of his duties after a poor season in Indianapolis. For a program trying to sharpen how it builds and manages its roster, that link alone makes the situation worth watching.
Ballards availability has naturally raised a bigger question for Wisconsin: whether the Badgers could lean on his experience in some kind of consulting or temporary capacity to help modernize the way they evaluate and assemble talent. Nothing of that sort is confirmed, but the logic is easy to follow given Browns background and the programs stated need for better roster management. If Wisconsin is looking for an obvious way to accelerate that process, the answer may already be sitting in the same professional orbit. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Faces One Brutal Question With USC Coming To Camp Randall
Wisconsin came back from its trip to UCLA with a frustrating reminder that one sturdy part of the defense can still be undone by everything else around it. The Badgers held down the Bruins rushing game, but they were exposed through the air and never found enough on offense to make up for it, leaving a loss that felt more about missed answers than one isolated breakdown.
Now the conversation shifts to USC coming into Camp Randall, and the matchup only sharpens the concern. The Trojans bring a strong passing offense but a softer pass defense, which puts Wisconsin in a familiar spot: needing to clean up the secondary while also finding enough offense to keep pace. The line has USC favored by 2.5 points, a reflection of how much this game may hinge on which team can solve the passing game first. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Volleyball Just Earned A Crucial Edge For The Stretch Run
With the final month of the regular season approaching, Wisconsin volleyball has put itself in a position that should matter come NCAA tournament time. The Badgers are No. 6 in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll, but the selection committee has them even higher, slotting them No. 4 among the top 16 teams and projecting them as a No. 1 seed.
That early advantage looks tied to the kind of schedule Wisconsin has embraced and the wins it has piled up along the way, including victories over Louisville, Florida, Oregon and Purdue. At 13-5 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten, the Badgers still have work to do, but theyve already built a rsum that gives them a strong foothold for the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]