Indiana's Aaron Casey has five straight games with at least eight tackles and is on pace to post the Hoosiers' first 100-tackle season since Tegray Scales in 2016. Michigan State has won in five of its last six visits to Indiana, with the loss coming in overtime in 2016. Nebraska has not allowed a rushing touchdown for five straight games, its longest stretch since 1996. Wisconsin is 15-0 in home night games against unranked opponents. The Huskers turn over the ball the most of any FBS team and the Badgers have simply underperformed.
Both teams have new coaches, and both have had injury problems. Now these old-school programs meet a final time as division rivals, and they've been relegated to playing for bowl eligibility. The Badgers went to the conference championship game four of the first six years of the East-West setup but have mostly been a shell of their former selves since 2020. There was a time when a lot of people thought these two teams would dominate the West Division.
