Wisconsin Badgers: A Season of Unbelievable Scoring

The Wisconsin Badgers' 70-23 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday marked the third time this season that the Badgers have scored 70 or more points in a game this season.  

Earlier the Badgers defeated Austin Peay, 70-3, and Indiana, 83-20.  It’s the first time in school history that the Badgers have accomplished such a feat.  The previous mark was set back in 1915, when the Badgers scored 70 or more points in two games.

Since 1950 only two other current FBS/Division 1-A teams have scored 70 or more points in three games in a season. Florida State beat Duke 70-26, N.C. State 77-17 and Wake Forest 72-13, in 1995, while in 1968 the Houston Cougars beat Cincinnati 71-33, Idaho 77-3 and Tulsa 100-6.

The 1905 Minnesota Golden Gophers were the last Big Ten team to accomplish the feat.  I’m not going to debate the sportsmanship of “running up the score,” but the Badgers are scoring on a level rarely seen in the modern era of college football.   It’s important to note that in their last three games, the Badgers have averaged 67 points per game.

The Badgers averaged 45.3 points per game in conference play this season, coming close to matching Penn State’s conference-best 48.1 ppg in 1994.  For the first time in school history, the Badgers won the Big Ten scoring title two years in a row.

Since losing to Michigan State back in October, the Badgers have scored 30 or more points in their last seven games.  Facing a month off of football, it will be interesting to see if the Badgers can continue to light up the scoreboard in their bowl game.