The Wisconsin Badgers got one of their biggest spreads in recent years when they faced the Western Illinois Leathernecks in Week 2. They were initially 36.5-point favorites, which rose all the way to 42.5 ahead of kickoff, indicating that a major blowout was coming.
I even had strong hope for Wisconsin, believing they would get off to a strong start and predicting them to cover their first-half spread of 24.5 points. Things got off strong for the Badgers, as they led 17-0 halfway through the first quarter,
thanks to a 71-yard touchdown run from Abu Sama on the opening play and a blocked punt for a touchdown.
But Wisconsin stumbled from there, as they tied Western Illinois 6-6 through the rest of the half. The Badgers settled for three field goals in the first half, while having a strange end-of-the-half possession offensively with poor clock management. However, it was their defense that was an issue, as they couldn’t get off the field.
Wisconsin gave up consecutive field goal drives that spanned 11 and 14 plays, respectively, while eating up nearly 14 minutes of clock. That made the halftime score 23-6 and put Western Illinois well on the path to cover.
The Badgers had some moments in the third quarter, including a strong eight-play, 68-yard touchdown drive all on the ground and a quick two-play, 84-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth in the air. But it wasn’t as dominant as the odds expected, with the Badgers falling well short of covering the 42.5-point spread with their 36-9 win.
That hasn’t stopped Wisconsin from being a major favorite in Week 3, though, as the Badgers will face the 1-2 Eastern Michigan Eagles on Saturday morning, with kickoff set for 11:30 a.m. Eastern Michigan is coming off a 35-7 loss to Michigan State after losing 27-21 to San Jose State the week prior.
They struggled defensively against the Spartans last week, as Michigan State went for 472 yards and over 250 on the ground. It was a slower start for the Spartans, though, who only had a 14-7 lead at halftime before pouring on 21 points in the second half.
Eastern Michigan, on the other hand, managed just 219 total yards, mainly struggling through the air. It was a similar story in their Week 2 loss against San Jose State, as the Eagles were outgained 453 to 281, while averaging just 4.0 yards per attempt in the air.
Going into Week 3, the Badgers have opened as 24.5-point favorites, according to FanDuel, with the over/under placed at 45.5 points. For reference, the Eagles were 15.5-point underdogs to Michigan State last week, with the over/under placed at 49.5 points.
That means the oddsmakers expect another lower-scoring game on Saturday, with Eastern Michigan projected to score around 10 points currently. We’ll see how the odds trend heading into the game, but there are higher expectations on the Badgers once again this weekend to dominate.
