The No. 20 Northwestern Wildcats (8-2) travel to take on the No. 21 Wisconsin Badgers (8-2) this week in what promises to be an exciting matchup. The Big 10’s second-leading receiver, Alex Erickson (831 yards, 3 TDs), and the third-leading rusher, Justin Jackson (1,033 yards, 2 TDs), will be the focal point of this contest. It will air Saturday, Nov 21 at 3:30 p.m. ET on BTN and BTN2.
In its last game before the bye, Wisconsin beat Maryland 31-24. Alex Erickson had a good game in the win, totaling five catches for 83 yards. Joel Stave put up 188 yards and a TD through the air. Northwestern also won last week’s performance, defeating Purdue 21-14. Warren Long had a big game on the ground for the Wildcats, carrying six times for 52 yards and two TDs. Justin Jackson also had a great game with 116 rushing yards and a TD on 24 attempts.
The Badgers, a 10-point favorite, will be looking to defend their home field when Northwestern visits. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is unavailable currently.
While the Badgers have a good Straight Up (SU) record this season (8-2), they’ve played below expectations with a 4-6 record Against The Spread (ATS). In the past five games, Wisconsin is 5-0 SU and 2-3 ATS. Expect the Badgers defense to restrict Northwestern’s passing attack. The Badgers have the 10th-ranked pass defense in the nation and give up only 174.4 passing yards per game. With the 14th-highest time of possession per game at 33:26, expect Wisconsin to control the clock this week.
On the other side, the Wildcats head into Week 12 with records of 6-4 ATS and 8-2 SU. In the previous five games, Northwestern has a record of 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS. Northwestern’s game plan centers around running the football, averaging 45.9 rushing attempts per game. The Northwestern pass defense has given teams nightmares during the past five games. During that time, opponents have gained an average of only 238.4 passing yards against this intimidating group. Northwestern fans don’t normally have much to complain about when it comes to the refs. The Wildcats record very few penalties, ranking 12th with only 4.7 per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Wisconsin, ATS Winner – Wisconsin
Notes
Wisconsin is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games.
Wisconsin is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Wisconsin’s last 8 games.
Wisconsin is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Wisconsin’s last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Wisconsin’s last 6 games when playing Northwestern.
Wisconsin is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Northwestern.
Both teams are 7-0 SU when leading after three quarters.
Remarkably, Wisconsin is winless (0-2 SU) in games where it comes out ahead in the turnover battle, yet undefeated (4-0 SU) when losing the turnover battle.
The Wisconsin offensive passing attack is ranked only 44th nationally, while the Northwestern pass defense is ranked 19th. The Wildcats passing game is ranked just 119th, compared to the 10th-ranked pass defense of the Badgers.
