The Wisconsin Badgers claw their way into Ryan Field to play the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday, November 5th at High Noon ET. The Big-10 match-up will be televised on the ABC Network. As of today, Wisconsin is a -7 point favorite and the contest’s over/under is chiseled in at 42.
In last year’s game, the Northwestern Wildcats captured a 13-7 conference win at Camp Randall Stadium. The Wildcats ended the Badger’s five-game winning streak and came away with their first victory in Madison since 2000.
#8 Wisconsin (6-2):
In Wisconsin last week, the Badgers beat #7 Nebraska, 23-17 in overtime. The loss was the Cornhuskers first loss of the season and gave them the head-to-head edge in the Big-10 tiebreaker between the two clubs.
Quarterback Alex Hornibrook was only called upon by the Badger’s offense 16 times to move the ball through the air. The man-under-center completed 10 of those passes for a paltry 71 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Bart Houston also saw time last week and could factor into the game this Saturday.
For the year, he has completed 75 balls for just under 950 yards. He also has just tossed six scores and served-up seven interceptions to the other team. As a result, Wisconsin sits 99th in the country in passing offense.
Corey Clement had distanced himself from his back field mates, and now is the go-to guy when the Badgers tote the rock. Clement has 161 carries for 699 yards and six trips to pay-dirt. The Badger’s second option Dare Ogunbowale, has contributed another 64 carries for 338 yards and two more scores.
In a limited roll, Wisconsin’s three wide outs have fared pretty well in 2016. Altogether, the have caught 81 passes for over 1,100 yards and five touchdowns. Jazz Peavy leads this group, with over 400 yards receiving and three touchdown nabs.
Once again, the nation’s 9th ranked defense in total yards will be asked to keep a sputtering offense in the game. Fortunately for Wisconsin, the unit only allows 14 points a contest, which is good for 3rd in the country.
Northwestern (4-4):
Northwestern proved in last week’s loss to the mighty Ohio State Buckeyes, that they can play with anybody in the nation. They wont be intimidated facing another top-10 team in the Wisconsin Badgers. Northwestern entered as 26-point underdogs against the Buckeyes last week and nearly pulled off the upset in a 24-20 defeat. The loss was the Wildcats first in the last three weeks of football.
Quarterback Clayton Thorson is progressing nicely as the season moves into the winter months. So far this year, he has completed 165 balls for 1,942 yards with 15 touchdown tosses and only six interceptions.
Running back Justin Johnson has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Northwestern Wildcats. He has amassed over 180 carries for 865 yards and has six trips to the back of the end zone to show for his work.
Wide receiver Austin Carr had another great day last week against the Buckeyes. The former walk-on had eight catches for almost 160 yards and kept the Ohio State defense honest. The talented wide out leads the Big-10 in receptions with 58, yards per game at 109.8 and also in touchdowns with nine.
Northwestern will need to shore-up their run defense against the Badgers this weekend. They allowed over 200 yards from the Buckeye’s offense last weekend. Altogether, the front seven has been solid, not allowing more than 84 in any of their previous three games. To show for their efforts, Northwestern sits 38th in the country against the run.
Trends and Notes:
The Badgers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 road games.
The Wildcats are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
The Under is 5-1 in the Badgers last 6 games overall.
The Under is 9-3 in the Wildcats last 12 games overall.
The Badgers are 0-7 ATS in their last 7 meetings in Northwestern.
Game Prediction:
The Badgers can gain another advantage over a Big-10 club this week, as the Wildcats also enter this match-up 3-2 in the conference. To do so, Wisconsin has to find a way to get some better production from the quarterback position. They are too predictable and the defense is left on the field for to many snaps.
Northwestern still has a lot of momentum heading into this game against Wisconsin. Yes, they did fall to the Buckeyes last week, but it was surely a confidence builder. Taking that into account, Northwestern started the season 1-2 and now sits at 4-4. Besides that, the Wildcats have found a balance to their offense. That’s something the Badgers haven’t been able to do all season.
Obviously, Las Vegas thinks there won’t be much offence in this affair. The over/under is up just a bit from 41 to 42. Heck, last years game only seen the two schools put up 20 points between them. This low of an under could be tricky but it does point to a tightly contested match.
Wisconsin likes to run, Northwestern can defend the run. Northwestern has shown improvement offensively, but let’s not forget that Wisconsin is one of the top ten defenses in the country.
The Get More Sports prognosticating wizards, say the -7 for a struggling Wisconsin offense on the road is too much. Take the Wildcats to cover the seven, and if it makes you feel better, buy it up a half a point for some breathing room.
