Wisconsin Badgers vs. Northwestern Wildcats Too Early Prediction
Wisconsin Badgers vs. Northwestern Wildcats: a Must-Win Game
When the Wisconsin Badgers play host to Northwestern Wildcats at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, they'll have an opportunity to move into a tie with Iowa for the most conference wins in the Big Ten West - assuming Iowa has trouble with Rutgers. This is a perfect Saturday to bounce back from last week's disaster against Indiana.
Wisconsin Badgers vs. Northwestern Wildcats last 5 games
River Reynolds- All Badgers
A quick breakdown
Northwestern, for all the drama surrounding their program this offseason, has done remarkably well sitting at 4-5. And, should the Badgers' offense fail to show up like they did against Indiana, this could be another upset brewing. On paper, and by reasonable thought processes, the Badgers are the better team in this matchup. However, the key to this game is going to be the Badgers' ability to control the line of scrimmage and dominate the run game will set them up for success.
The Badgers have been averaging nearly five yards per rush, and the Wildcats surrender about four yards per rush, and nearly 160 yards per game on the ground. Neither of the passing games are anything to write home about, but both secondaries are holding opponents to under 200 yards per game. So whoever dominates the ground game and can muster anything through the air will win this game and the Badgers have the better rushing attack.
Oct 14, 2023; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; General view of a Wisconsin Badgers helmet during the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
© Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Let's make a prediction
This game will not be a barn burner. The Badgers are scoring about 24 points per game and surrendering 19.1. For their own part, the Wildcats are surrendering nearly 25 points per game and only scoring 20. That seems to be a reasonable expectation for the game, so let's predict a 24-20 win for the Badgers in front of the hometown crowd at Camp Randall Stadium.
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