The Wisconsin Badgers opened the week as 36.5-point favorites against the Western Illinois Leathernecks, according to FanDuel, while the over/under was initially set at 48.5 points. That was one of the largest spreads for Wisconsin in recent years, and it has actually only grown since.
Money is starting to come in hard on Wisconsin, as the Badgers jumped to 37.5-point favorites almost instantly before being 38.5-point favorites on Friday. Well, by Saturday, Wisconsin was a 42.5-point favorite, with
the over/under now set at 51.5 points.
That gives Wisconsin an implied total of around 46-47 points, while the books do not expect Western Illinois to score a touchdown. There is a clear level of confidence around Wisconsin, despite their 41-13 loss to Notre Dame last weekend. Western Illinois got off to a rough start in Week 1, losing 41-10 to Illinois State as they got dominated on the ground.
Offensively, they couldn’t run the ball either, and that’ll make it hard for them to have success on either side of the ball against Wisconsin.
Despite the money moving hard on Wisconsin, the voters in our weekly Reacts poll still have doubts that the Badgers will be able to cover the spread.
Back when the spread was 36.5 points, only 26 percent of the vote favored the Badgers covering the spread. I was among that group, given how the two teams played in Week 1, and I definitely feel this is a big blowout opportunity for Wisconsin in Week 2.
The Badgers kick off at 6:15 p.m. on Big Ten Network on Saturday evening.
