Purdue vs. Wisconsin odds, spread, lines: Week 8 college football picks, predictions by computer model

Two old Big Ten West rivals face off this weekend as Wisconsin hosts Purdue in college football's Week 8 action on Saturday.

Purdue comes in sitting in second place behind surprise contender Illinois at 5-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play with a chance to build momentum ahead of its own game against the Illini later this season.

Wisconsin is 1-3 in Big Ten matchups on the year, coming off a tough double-overtime loss to Michigan State and 3-4 overall with interim head coach Jim Leonhard at the helm.

What do the experts think of the matchup? Let's see how the College Football Power Index computer prediction model projects the game.

Purdue vs. Wisconsin picks, predictions

The computers are going with the home team this weekend, as Wisconsin has the 57.8 percent chance to defeat Purdue on Saturday.

That leaves the Boilermakers a 42.2 percent shot to dump the Badgers, win their fifth straight game overall, and move into a better position in the West Division contest.

The oddsmakers project a very close contest, as Wisconsin comes into the game a narrow 2 point favorite to beat Purdue, according to the lines at SI Sportsbook, which set the over/under mark at 52.5 points for the matchup.

Purdue checks in as the 30th best overall team nationally in the index' 131 college football rankings, projected to win 8.3 games this season, with a 48.0 percent chance to win the Big Ten West, currently ahead of Illinois (43.7%) in that category.

Wisconsin places No. 32 overall on the computer rankings, which slot teams based on a projected per-game scoring margin: the index estimates that the Badgers are 8.7 points better than an average team on a neutral field.

College Football Power Index

Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings and computer prediction model are a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance.

Rankings and scores predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season, using a combination of analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, and a team’s schedule.

College football rankings

According to AP top 25 poll

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