Alabama football's 2024 schedule is taking another step up in difficulty Saturday.

The No. 4 Crimson Tide will travel to Madison, Wisconsin and face Wisconsin for its first road game of the Kalen DeBoer era.

DeBoer is no stranger to the Big Ten, having spent the 2019 season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Indiana before becoming the head coach at Fresno State. Alabama is no stranger to the Big Ten either. Against teams currently in the Big Ten, the Crimson Tide has won 41 of 58 games.

The only teams in the Big Ten that Alabama has never faced are Indiana, Iowa, Northwestern, Oregon and Purdue.

Here's a look at Alabama's history against the Big Ten before the Crimson Tide kick off against the Badgers at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Alabama football vs Penn State

• Series record: Alabama leads 10-5

Alabama and Penn State are no strangers to one another.

After three bowl meetings in 1959, 1975 and 1979, Alabama coach Bear Bryant and Penn State coach Joe Paterno began a 10-year home-and-home between Alabama and Penn State when the Nittany Lions were independent. Alabama won six of its 10 meetings against Penn State, but the Nittany Lions had the last laugh by beating the Crimson Tide 9-0 on Oct. 27, 1990 in Tuscaloosa, the first season under coach Gene Stallings.

Alabama won both of its meetings against Penn State in a home-and-home in 2010-11.

Alabama vs USC

• Series record: Alabama leads 6-2

While Alabama vs. USC has a history of eight games, only one has been played within the last 38 years.

Jalen Hurts and Alabama beat USC 52-6 to begin the 2016 season in Arlington, Texas, coming off a national championship win before.

Four of the meetings between the Crimson Tide and the Trojans came in the 1970s in two home-and-homes that the two teams split. USC won both games in Alabama, while the Crimson Tide won both games in Los Angeles.

Alabama vs Michigan

• Series record: Tied at 3-3

In six meetings between Alabama and Michigan, both teams have three wins. But the Wolverines' latest win is one the Crimson Tide would like to forget.

Alabama lost 27-20 in overtime to Michigan in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. The Crimson Tide allowed a 17-yard touchdown run from Blake Corum to give Michigan the lead before the Wolverines defense stopped Milroe short of the goal line on a run to secure the win.

Alabama and Michigan have one non-bowl game meeting: the 2012 season opener in Arlington, Texas which the Crimson Tide won 41-14.

Alabama vs Ohio State

• Series record: Alabama leads 4-1

Alabama's most recent national championship win came against a Big Ten opponent.

After losing to Ohio State in its first College Football Playoff semifinal appearance in 2015, the Crimson Tide rolled over the Buckeyes 52-24 for their 18th national championship to end the 2020 season.

Alabama has four wins in five meetings against Ohio State. All but one of the meetings have come in bowl games. That is scheduled to change in 2027-28 with a home-and-home against the Buckeyes.

Alabama vs Washington

• Series record: Alabama leads 5-0

Of the current Big Ten teams, Washington may be the one Alabama has had most success against.

In five meetings between the Huskies and the Crimson Tide, Alabama is undefeated. All but two of those games have been decided by single digits.

5 Alabama games to watch in 2024: 5 Alabama football games Crimson Tide fans shouldn't overlook in 2024 season

But Alabama has only played Washington once in the past 37 years: a 24-7 win against the Huskies at the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Peach Bowl in 2016.

Alabama vs Nebraska

• Series record: Alabama leads 3-2

While Alabama and Nebraska have crossed paths five times, there has not been a meeting between the two teams since 1978.

But the 1977 matchup between Alabama and Nebraska was one to remember. The unranked Cornhuskers upset No. 4 Alabama in Lincoln 31-24, handing the Crimson Tide its only loss of the season. Alabama went on to beat Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl as the No. 3 team in the country.

Alabama vs Maryland

• Series record: Alabama leads 2-1

Maryland is another Big Ten team Alabama has not seen in nearly 50 years.

The Crimson Tide has beaten Maryland in two of its three meetings against the Terrapins, including a season-opening 21-16 road win Sept. 14, 1974 in which both teams were ranked in the top-15 of the Associated Press preseason poll.

Alabama vs UCLA

• Series record: UCLA leads 2-1

Of the Big Ten teams Alabama has faced multiple times, UCLA is the only team the Crimson Tide has a losing record against.

Alabama and UCLA had a home-and-home from 2000-01. And the Bruins won both, beating the Crimson Tide, the No. 3 team in the country in the preseason AP poll, 35-24 at the Rose Bowl in 2000 before getting the 20-17 win in Tuscaloosa in 2001.

Alabama and UCLA's only previous matchup came in a 36-6 Crimson Tide win in the 1976 Liberty Bowl.

Alabama vs Michigan State

• Series record: Alabama leads 2-0

Michigan State is the newest Big Ten team Alabama has seen.

Meet Alabama OL coach Chris Kapilovic: For Alabama football OL coach Chris Kapilovic, accepting the job was a family affair

The Crimson Tide has two bowl games worth of experience against the Spartans, first beating Michigan State 49-7 in the Capital One Bowl to end the 2010 season and later ending the Spartans' national championship hopes in the 2015 Cotton Bowl with a 38-0 win.

Alabama vs Rutgers

• Series record: Alabama leads 2-0

A home-and-home during the 1980 and 1981 seasons is the only time Alabama and Rutgers have crossed paths.

The Scarlet Knights made a strong first impression on the Crimson Tide. Alabama squeaked out a 17-13 road victory as the No. 1 team in the nation Oct. 11, 1980.

The Crimson Tide were more dominant at home a year later, beating Rutgers 31-7 Oct. 24.

Alabama vs Wisconsin

• Series record: Tied at 1-1

Before Saturday's matchup at Camp Randall Stadium, Alabama had seen Wisconsin two other times.

The Crimson Tide first faced Wisconsin in 1928 and beat the Badgers 15-0 on the road. Eighty seven years later, Derrick Henry and Alabama opened the 2015 season with a win against Wisconsin in Arlington, Texas.

What to know about Alabama vs. Wisconsin Alabama football vs Wisconsin: Score prediction, scouting report

To finish up the home-and-home, Alabama is scheduled to host Wisconsin during the 2025 season.

Alabama vs Illinois

• Series record: Alabama leads 1-0

Alabama's only meeting against Illinois is one that has gone down in Crimson Tide history.

Alabama's 21-15 win against the Fighting Illini in the 1982 Liberty Bowl was the final game of coach Bear Bryant's 25-season career with the Crimson Tide.

Bryant handed the program off to coach Ray Perkins after the game. Perkins coached the Crimson Tide from 1983-96.

Alabama vs Minnesota

• Series record: Minnesota leads 1-0

Alabama's only game against Minnesota did not turn out well.

Ending the regular-season with a 6-5 record, including two-straight losses to LSU and Auburn, the Crimson Tide fell to the Golden Gophers 20-16 in the Music City Bowl to end the 2004 season.

The Crimson Tide have its revenge game against the Golden Gophers scheduled with a home-and-home coming in the 2032-33 seasons.

Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Alabama football Big Ten history: How has Tide done?