In 1890, Benjamin Harrison was president and Wyoming celebrated becoming the 44th state in the Union.
It was also in that year that Wisconsin allowed 63 points against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a crushing loss.
One hundred eleven years and six states later, UW repeated the same feat with a 63-32 trouncing at the hands of Indiana Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.
This, by far, was the worst loss in the era of Head Coach Barry Alvarez.
'I can't put my finger on anything, but I saw some things out there today that I haven't seen since we've been here and it's annoying,' Alvarez said. 'We never did stop them.'
Senior Antwaan Randle El, the Hoosiers' multi-faceted quarterback, was a handful for the Badgers' defense as he scattered for 105 yards rushing and 182 yards passing with one touchdown.
However, the player of the game was senior running back Levron Williams, who tallied 280 yards and six touchdowns.
Averaging 14 yards per carry, Williams slashed through gaping holes in the Badgers' usually stellar line.
Also, Williams benefited from UW's focus on Randle El by taking the pitch after the defense doubled up on the quarterback on the option.
The first quarter set the tone for the entire game as Indiana jumped out to a 32-0 lead 12 minutes into the game.
It took only 11 plays from scrimmage for Indiana to score four of its five touchdowns, with the other courtesy of the Hoosiers' special teams as they blocked UW punter Kirk Munden's kick and returned it 10 yards for the score.
'We didn't tackle well. It just seemed like we weren't out there the first quarter,' said senior linebacker Nick Griesen.
The Badgers, on the other hand, could not get an offensive rhythm the entire game. With sophomore tailback Anthony Davis sitting out with a turf toe injury, it was up to Broderick Williams and Jerone Pettus to shoulder running back responsibilities.
Pettus did gain 84 yards, but did not have any big plays to gain momentum for UW.
In the second quarter, the Badgers showed signs of life with a six-minute scoring drive, culminating with a Mark Neuser field goal.
After a strong defensive stand, UW quarterback Brooks Bollinger found wide receiver Lee Evans for a 43-yard touchdown using a reverse flea-flicker to fool the Hoosier defense.
However, that momentum was short lived as IU's Williams scored his fourth touchdown on the next Indiana drive. The Badgers also fumbled three times, which led to two touchdowns and a field goal by Indiana.
In the second half, Randle El showed why he's considered one of the most dangerous players in the country when he eluded defensive lineman Wendell Bryant and several others who had him in their grasp and scampered for a 23-yard run.
That play summarized the Badger's ineffective defense Saturday.
'We embarrassed the program. We embarrassed everything that Mr. Alvarez built,' Bryant said. 'I personally would like to apologize to every fan for that performance that we gave out there.'
The next two weeks are critical for the Badgers' psyche as they face two difficult road tests at Ohio State and Illinois.
