Expert picks for Wisconsin at Michigan: Bleak outlook for Badgers against Wolverines

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The Wisconsin Badgers are major underdogs on Saturday against the Michigan Wolverines.
It's no surprise, then, that college football experts don't see Luke Fickell's squad pulling off a major upset.
It's unanimous predictions of defeat, across the board.
Over at CBS Sports, their panel of nine different college football writers all have Michigan getting the win straight up.
Three of those nine writers think the Badgers will cover a 16.5-point spread, though.
𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) October 3, 2025
Game 05 at Michigan
Saturday, Oct. 4
11 AM CT on FOX#OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/l7m0PoAwiZ
The staff at over at CFB-HQ on SI sees it similarly. Their nine writers also unanimously picked the Wolverines, but one of them thinks Wisconsin can keep it down to a one-score loss.
Joining the chorus of Michigan picks are six writers over at USA Today, who all have impressive records picking games so far this season and agree that the Badgers won't make it happen.
Even Wisconsin beat reporters over at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel don't see the Badgers keeping it very close in Ann Arbor.
The more interesting question this week seems to be not if Wisconsin will win, but if they will cover a three-score spread.
It's a bleak outlook for Week 6, but its not unexpected given the Badgers recent struggles and Michigan's status as the 20th ranked team in the country.
If Wisconsin somehow, someway pulls off a victory, it could be the biggest upset of the week. Even keeping it close with the Wolverines would go a long way toward rebuilding some confidence in Fickell and the state of the football program.
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Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.