The Prediction: Wisconsin Badgers

SB Nation

The Huskies head to Madison for a showdown with Wisconsin in their house to determine who is the real UW! Our staff has their picks!

Andrew Berg (8-0 SU, 3-5 ATS)

Prior to the season, this game was one a lot of UW fans had circled on the calendar,

either as a potential road trip to see a fun environment or a crucial match-up of teams striving to get into contention in the conference. Instead, the Badgers have flopped hard this season and it’s harder to come up with a reason for why this game should be especially entertaining. In the end, it’s that same home field advantage that creates some intrigue between a UW team on the rise and a Wisconsin team playing out the string for an apparent lame duck coach in Luke Fickell. If the Dawgs didn’t have to cross two time zones and play half a country away, there would be virtually no reason to think Wisconsin could hang in this game. Their offense simply hasn’t done enough to compete with even mediocre conference opponents. The injury to QB Danny O’Neil left Hunter Simmons in charge of the offense and his stats look like something out of the 1960s, or worse, an Iowa offense. Through five games, Simmons is completing exactly 50% of his passes with a 2/5 TD/Int ratio. The result is that the Badgers have scored 27 points in their five conference games. Not 27 combined points. 27 points. The defense has been a bit better, as evidenced by the 21 points they allowed to Oregon in their last game. They are adequate against the run and opponents have tried to go after their pass defense. Even though the defense is decent, it will take self-inflicted wounds by Washington to keep this game close. The Dawgs are certainly capable, with multiple slow starts and numerous penalties on their resume. But with a bye week to prepare, I don’t see any logical reason for the Badgers to keep it very close.

Washington 28 – Wisconsin 10

Max Vrooman (7-1 SU, 2-6 ATS)

It has been an abysmal season for Wisconsin and the hope is that only continues. It was easy to forecast in the preseason that Wisconsin had one of if not the hardest schedule in the country coming into the year. But if anything it got even harder once the season started and Maryland/Iowa surpassed expectations. 8 of Wisconsin’s first 11 games until they close at Minnesota will have been against teams either in or just outside the top 25 including versus Alabama, Ohio State, and Oregon. The lack of success is mostly due to one of the worst offenses in the country. They brought in a pair of QB transfers who both got hurt and 3rd stringer Hunter Simmons was just 7/21 for 86 yards at Oregon in Wisconsin’s last game (albeit in a driving rainstorm). We could see the Badgers turn to 4-star true freshman Carter Smith to finish the year now that he could play the rest of the year without burning his redshirt. Wisconsin’s defense has been above average trying to hold back opponents while their offense does absolutely nothing. It’s not crazy to think that the combination of weather (maybe snowing in the 4th quarter), travel across time zones, Wisconsin coming off a bye, and Wisconsin’s defense leads to another slow road game for the offense. Even if Washington has the worst D that Wisconsin has played since early September, I still can’t imagine Wisconsin putting up more than 20 points with their offense which means Washington ends up covering.

Washington- 27, Wisconsin- 13

Raymond Lucas Jr. (5-1 SU, 0-6 ATS)

Luke Fickell will coach at Wisconsin next season. Despite that, it feels like he’s on borrowed time in Madison. Perhaps there is something to be made about the other UW sticking by his side, or it’s just the fear of getting left with scraps in an offseason that will see the coaching carousel spin off its hinges.

Regardless of what you make of the Badgers situation, the ongoing season has been brutal. They are just 2-6 on the year, with the two victories coming against Miami (Ohio) and Middle Tennessee. Since winning those first two games, the Badgers have dropped their last six.

In fairness, it hasn’t been an easy schedule. Wisconsin’s losing streak (all double-digit defeats) has been compiled by the likes of Alabama, Maryland, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State, and Oregon— in that order.

Saturday features a Husky team capable of a blowout win, and then @ Indiana, which will likely be a thrashing.

So if you’re looking for a trap game on Washington’s schedule, here it is!

Washington is finally ranked, and winning out puts it on the bubble for the College Football Playoff.

Typically, a loud environment cheering on a struggling team in desperate need of a victory is a recipe for disaster for a visitor with those stakes.

But… Wisconsin’s passing attack is horrific. Hunter Simmons has been the starter for the last four games and has yet to eclipse 100 passing yards in the last three.

Yeah.

Washington should win this game, but the environment could make it closer than it should be. Regardless, the Huskies will run and jump around all through Madison. Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Washington-35, Wisconsin-10

Mark Schafer (6-2 SU, 1-7 ATS)

On paper, this seems like an easy win. The Badgers are 2-6, their offense is abysmal, and they have been ravaged by injury. But, there are elements at play here which could make this a trap game. Chief among them, the actual elements, as the forecast for Saturday calls for a chance of snow. It remains to be seen if Jonah can dash through the snow like Myles Gaskin in the 2018 Apple Cup, but Coach Fisch usually does a pretty good job of getting him involved in the offense regardless of whether he racks up the rushing yards. Aside from Jonah, Demond also needs to continue his momentum from the last game, which he should be able to do, but it’ll be tougher than Wisconsin’s record suggests, as they’re currently 44th in total defense.

Offensively though, it’s a different story. The injury bug has bitten the Badgers at quarterback and running back, and Hunter Simmons has only posted 469 yards, 2 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, for an offense averaging only 12.5 PPG. It’s difficult to key in on a weapon for this offense, but Vinnie Anthony is it. Look for Tacario Davis and the rest of the secondary to key in on him and force the third stringer Simmons to make mistakes, perhaps leading to a few turnovers.

This has all the makings of a trap game, and the travel to one of the toughest environments in the country gives me pause. But I don’t think there will be an upset, and the Huskies will pull away, and be jumping around Camp Randall by game’s end!

Washington-35, Wisconsin-17