By the end of his tenure as Iowa’s offensive line coach in the 1980s, Kirk Ferentz would have loved if the Hawkeyes could play the struggling Badgers twice in one season.

But times have changed, and no Hawkeye on this year’s roster has ever defeated Wisconsin.

“They’ve been the team in the West,” quarterback Spencer Petras said. “No one on this team has beat Wisconsin, so it’s definitely a big week for us.”

Iowa comes in with a run of success in other rivalry games. The Hawkeyes have handled Nebraska and Minnesota each of the last six seasons and have bested Iowa State five times in a row.

It’s the same deal in the battle against Wisconsin, only reversed.

“It’s an added motivation for us,” Petras said. “None of us have held the Heartland Trophy,”

Each of the last four seasons, Iowa has lost to Wisconsin. The last two Hawkeye defeats in the series were particularly painful for those in the Black and Gold.

Under the lights at Kinnick Stadium, Iowa hosted No. 18 Wisconsin in its 2018 Big Ten opener. The Hawkeyes led by three entering the fourth quarter and held onto that lead for most of the final 15 minutes of play. Wisconsin went 88 yards in 10 plays right into the end zone with 57 seconds remaining in the game. The Badgers defense forced a Hawkeye turnover on the next possession, and Wisconsin scored a game-sealing touchdown and won 28-17.

Last season at Camp Randall Stadium, quarterback Nate Stanley was stuffed on a two-point conversion attempt with just over three minutes to play, and Wisconsin won the game 24-22 and took Iowa out of the divisional race.

“We’ve talked all week, we just need to push through,” linebacker Nick Niemann said. “We’ve been close the past couple years. The margin of error is very, very slim.”

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The 22 seniors Iowa is honoring on Saturday for Senior Day face their final chance, unless they opt to return for another year of eligibility, to defeat take down the Badgers.

And the challenge remains tough.

Wisconsin was ranked inside the top 10 in the nation after defeating Illinois 45-7 in the first week of the Big Ten season. The following two weeks, the Badgers didn’t play because of a COVID-19 outbreak within their program. The Paul Chryst-led team dominated Michigan in its return to the field but lost to Big Ten West champion Northwestern the following week.

After another game that was called off because of COVID-19 (this time within Minnesota’s program), Wisconsin lost to Indiana last week.

When they have been on the field, the Badgers have been the typical Badgers. Wisconsin is rushing for nearly 200 yards a game and allowing just over 12 points per game on defense.

The No. 16 Hawkeyes (5-2) are riding a five-game win streak into this year’s meeting with the Badgers (2-2). The two programs built on physical play in the trenches could have snowy surroundings as a backdrop at Kinnick Stadium for their Big Ten regular season finale at 2:30 p.m.

For Iowa to extend its winning streak, it needs to end its losing skid against a program that’s bested it of late.

“Historically they’ve been a good team,” cornerback Matt Hankins said. “They always come ready to play. So that’s how we’ve been looking at them, been preparing for them. We know they’re going to come out, and it’s going to be a dog fight. We’ve just got to be ready when the ball is kicked off.”