National Analysts see Wisconsin Giving Penn State all it can Handle in Happy Valley

The Badgers have little time to dwell on their cathartic 54-10 win over Eastern Michigan, as a daunting road test against No. 13 Penn State awaits in Week 4.

Such is life in college football; Wisconsin has either been a multi-score underdog or an enormous favorite in each of its first four games.

The start of conference play is often one of the more telling points in the season. This is the most evenly-matched opponent either team has faced yet. We can only glean so much from blowout wins over MAC schools, and in Wisconsin's case, a thorough loss at the hands of a national title favorite.

Thus, this is a hard game to pick, and the lack of true, empirical evidence as to how good both of these teams are probably has something to do with the surprisingly narrow point spread.

In a Week 4 loaded with marquee, ranked matchups such as Texas at Tennessee, Ole Miss at Florida, Iowa at Michigan and Oregon at USC, the Badgers' clash with the Nittany Lions has flown a tad under the radar.

Still, several On3 national analysts made their picks against the spread for this matchup, and the consensus is that Wisconsin should make this game quite competitive.

J.D. PicKell took Penn State to win outright but the Badgers to cover. Ari Wasserman also took Wisconsin to cover the spread, while his co-host Andy Staples ate the points and went with Penn State.

Checking the national temperature around Wisconsin football

Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Wisconsin isn't expected to win this game; I have yet to see a single writer or outlet pick the Badgers to win outright. And given how the rest of the schedule unfolds, the Badgers don't necessarily need to win this game to accomplish what they need to this season: make a bowl game and finish with a winning record.

Still, this is a monumental game for Wisconsin. It has a chance to make a statement on a national scale and prove that it's turned a corner, that it's finally picking up steam under head coach Luke Fickell.

A win would propel the Badgers to a 3-1 record and likely a spot in the AP Top 25. It would also — as hard as this is to believe — open the door for Wisconsin to the College Football Playoff talk.

If the Badgers are 3-1 with a win over No. 13 Penn State on the road, finishing 7-1 down the stretch would likely send them to the big dance. That's of course not an easy task to pull off, but the door would certainly be ajar.

Meanwhile, a loss would raise the same old questions. When is Fickell going to break through at Wisconsin? When will the Badgers pick up that signature win that announces to the college football world, at long last, that Wisconsin football is back?

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