Tag: Big Ten West

ESPN College Gameday picks for Wisconsin vs. Northwestern

It’s gameday in Evanston, Illinois as the No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers get set to battle the No. 19 Northwestern Wildcats in a game that…

It’s gameday in Evanston, Illinois as the No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers get set to battle the No. 19 Northwestern Wildcats in a game that will likely decide the Big Ten West division.

Last week when the Badgers ran over the Michigan Wolverines, it was one of the biggest games of the college football slate. Today, and I don’t think anybody expected this entering the season, the same story can be told as it is a matchup of unbeaten teams with a trip to the conference championship on the line.

Related: Five keys to a Wisconsin victory over Northwestern on Saturday

Although ESPN College Gameday was at Oklahoma for their game against Oklahoma State, the Wisconsin vs. Northwestern was still one of the most-talked-about games on the show.

Here is who the hosts picked to come away with a victory:

Kirk Herbstreit: Wisconsin

Lee Corso: Wisconsin

Desmond Howard: Northwestern

David Pollack: Wisconsin

Atlanta Hawks PG Trae Young: Northwestern

The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CST and be available on ABC and the ESPN app.

 

Related:

The boat has sunk for Minnesota this year

When Head Coach P.J. Fleck arrived in Minnesota a few years ago he brought with him his motto of “row the boat.” Everything…

When Head Coach P.J. Fleck arrived in Minnesota a few years ago he brought with him his motto of “row the boat.”

Everything seemed to be working in the beginning for Fleck and the Golden Gophers, as their 11-2 2019 season was the best the program has seen in a long time.

It was enough of an accomplishment for the program that they made championship rings for their season–commemorating their Outback Bowl victory against Auburn, 11-2 record, Big Ten west first-place finish (tied) and more.

Related: BadgersWire roundtable: Wisconsin-Michigan score predictions

Yes, they included Big Ten West co-champions despite losing to the Badgers and not making the Big Ten Championship.

They understandably received comments on the “Big Ten West co-champions” part of the ring as, again, it was the Badgers that won the division.

The rings aside, Fleck’s team had Big Ten Championship aspirations entering this year. Now 1-3 through four games, it appears there is no longer a boat to row.

The season-opening 49-24 loss to then-No. 18 Michigan wasn’t the biggest disappointment.

The 45-44 overtime loss to Maryland and 35-7 blowout loss to Iowa since then, however, have taken Minnesota out of Big Ten West contention and have their season heading in the wrong direction.

It wasn’t pretty last night against Iowa, with the Gophers’ only touchdown coming at the end of the fourth quarter and Iowa dominating them on all sides of the football.

It also is fun to note that after penalties last night, Fleck himself has more penalty yards than the Wisconsin Badgers have this entire season (yes, I know they’ve only played one game).

The Gopher program could still be headed in the right direction. This year at least, sitting at 1-3 through four games, there is no longer a boat to row in Minnesota.

 

Gameday work:

BREAKING: Wisconsin quarterback Jack Coan injured at practice and is out indefinitely

According to multiple reports Wisconsin senior quarterback Jack Coan injured his foot at practice yesterday and is out indefinitely…

According to multiple reports Wisconsin senior quarterback Jack Coan injured his foot at practice yesterday and is out indefinitely.

Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the first to break the news, says the senior quarterback will undergo surgery and should miss several weeks, at least through the opening game against Illinios.

Behind Coan on the depth chart is redshirt freshman and former four-star recruit Graham Mertz, redshirt sophomore Chase Wolf and redshirt junior Danny Vanden Boom. None of whom have much college experience.

This news is tough to hear after Head Coach Paul Chryst and senior running back Garrett Groshek both raved about Coan, his leadership and what he means to the team just this past week.

Though the timeline of Coan’s injury is unknown, his absence will have a significant effect on the team and its quest towards their first Big Ten title since 2012.

LOOK: Wisconsin releases their official 2020 football roster

With the season kicking off in exactly one month the Wisconsin Badgers will open their fall camp on Wednesday and, as a result, today…

With the season kicking off in exactly one month the Wisconsin Badgers will open their fall camp on Wednesday and, as a result, today released their official 2020 roster.

Here is their group heading into the season:

A surprise addition to the roster is senior offensive lineman Boyd Dietzen, a player who retired two years ago because of injuries.

One absence of note, though, is safety Reggie Pearson after he impressed in his first year as a starter.

Head coach Paul Chryst in a press conference today addressed his absence and cited a physical issue as the reason he isn’t on the roster.

Pearson will still stay in school and with the football program.

A final piece worth noting is the significant weight differences several players have entering the season:

A few names that stick out from this list: Graham Mertz up nine pounds, Cole Van Lanen down seven pounds, Eric Burrell up eight pouynds and Izayah Green-May up 11 pounds.

 

There have been countless schedule releases in the last few months that have made the Badgers’ 2020 football season feel real. This roster release, though, takes the cake. We’re one month from Badger and Big Ten football.

Minnesota creates championship rings for…winning the Big Ten West?

Yes, that’s a real headline. Yesterday the Minnesota Golden Gopher football program released their 2019 Outback Bowl rings and included…

Yes, that’s a real headline.

Yesterday the Minnesota Golden Gopher football program released their 2019 Outback Bowl rings and included in the design is a commemoration of their Big Ten West victory last season–a co-victory which was actually a defeat as the Badgers defeated the Golden Gophers late in the season and won the division.

Here’s the outline of their design:

Also included: ranking No. 10 in the end-of-season poll and hosting College Gameday for the first time.

In case the message above wasn’t clear: Minnesota and Wisconsin had the same conference record last season so they were (technically) co-champions of the Big Ten West. As Badger fans know, though, the tiebreaker is the head-to-head matchup which was won 38-17 by Jack Coan and the Wisconsin Badgers.

Championship rings are fun and are a great commemoration of success, I’ll give them that. They did win the Outback Bowl against Auburn, host College Gameday and finish the season 11-2, this all is true. But it’s hard to look at the Big Ten West champion part of the ring and not immediately go to the fact that it was the Badgers–not the Golden Gophers–that faced off with Ohio State in the conference championship last season.

The Badgers win the West Division in 247Sports’ Big Ten preseason poll

The writers at 247Sports predicted the entire Big Ten football season yesterday including standings, champion, coach of the year, game of…

The writers at 247Sports predicted the entire Big Ten football season yesterday including standings, champion, coach of the year, game of the year and storylines to watch and had the Badgers winning the West Division and playing Ohio State in the conference championship for the third time in the last four years.

The writers had Paul Chryst’s team winning the division over Minnesota in second place, Iowa in third and then a big gap before Nebraska, Purdue, Northwestern and Illinois.

Their championship prediction? A unanimous selection of Ohio State over Wisconsin yet again.

And if the Ohio State love wasn’t apparent already, they had Badger coach Paul Chryst at No. 2 in the end-of-season Coach of the Year rankings behind Ryan Day of Ohio State.

The Badgers also appeared in some of their big storylines to watch this season–those being the parity in the West Division (or lack thereof) and whether the Badgers will finally release their grasp of the division to Minnesota after the two teams battled for the division crown late last season.

Despite the (understandable) Buckeye love, 247Sports’ preseason poll sees the Badgers favorably even with many of their key contributors from 2019 gone to the NFL or graduation. If you ask me, given the turnover at key positions and the Buckeyes’ annual spot in the nation’s top-5 teams, this outcome would be a successful one for the Badgers.

A Big Ten Championship is obviously the goal, but winning the West Division and beating Notre Dame and Minnesota would be a favorable outcome even if Justin Fields and the Buckeyes win the conference for the fourth year in a row.

247Sports simulates the Badgers’ October 10 matchup against Minnesota

247Sports recently simulated the “20 best games of the 2020 season” and No. 11 was October 10’s rivalry matchup between Minnesota and…

247Sports recently simulated the “20 best games of the 2020 season” and No. 11 was October 10’s rivalry matchup between Minnesota and Wisconsin.

To ease the pain of the result, the Golden Gophers came out on top 28-21 thanks to a last minute touchdown pass from Tanner Morgan to Rashod Bateman.

The fact that this is an NCAA 14 simulation aside, the matchup between these two teams will go a long way in dictating the narrative around each team’s season. The winner? Most likely on the way to winning the Big Ten West and playing in the Big Ten Championship game.

Oh, and the axe is on the line.

The Badgers’ victory in last season’s meeting between these two teams pushed the all-time series to 61-60-8 in favor of Wisconsin. Winners of 15 of the last 16 contests, Paul Chryst’s team will need to fight the demons of this simulated loss and come out on top on the real gridiron against the Golden Gophers if they want any shot at avenging last season’s loss in the conference championship game.

Wisconsin at Minnesota odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Saturday’s Wisconsin Badgers at Minnesota Golden Gophers sports betting odds and lines, with college football betting picks.

The Wisconsin Badgers (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten West) will do battle with the Minnesota Golden Gophers (10-1, 7-1 West) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. Not only with one of the best college football trophies (Paul Bunyan’s Axe) on the line, but this season’s game is even more meaningful with a trip to the Big Ten Championship Game up for grabs. We analyze the Wisconsin-Minnesota odds and betting lines, while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.

Wisconsin at Minnesota: Three things you need to know

1. The Badgers limp into this game with a 1-4 against the spread mark across the past five games, although they’re an impressive 15-6 ATS in the past 21 on the road and 8-3 ATS in the past 11 away games against a team with a winning home mark.

2. The Golden Gophers have covered seven of the past eight overall while going 4-0 ATS in their past four home outings and 8-1 ATS in the past nine conference tilts.

3. Wisconsin ranks 14th in the nation with 251.2 rushing yards per game while ranking seventh in total yards allowed (270.3), sixth in passing yards allowed (169.9) and 10th in rushing yards allowed (100.4). Its 14.4 PPG allowed ranks eighth.

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Wisconsin at Minnesota: Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 8 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Ohio State 37, Michigan 27

Moneyline (ML)

WISCONSIN (-154) will go into the Twin Cities and grab the axe with a win. The Badgers have a strong running back with RB Jonathan Taylor, who will be able to control the game. Minnesota (+125) has a bevy of quality backs as well; however, the Gophers haven’t faced a suffocating defense like Wisconsin possesses.

New to sports betting? Every $1 wagered for Wisconsin to win outright will return a profit of $6.50.

Against the Spread (ATS)

WISCONSIN (-2.5, -128) has the road trends in its favor, as the visitor is 4-0-1 ATS in the past five meetings. Minnesota (+2.5, +105) is catching points at home, though, and the underdog is 8-3-1 ATS in the previous 12 in this series. I think Taylor is the difference in this one, and he rips off a special game for the Badgers.

Over/Under (O/U)

The OVER 45.5 (-110) is usually the way to go here, hitting in 15 of the past 19 battles in this series. The Over is also 4-1 in Minny’s past five overall. For Wisconsin, the Under has hit in five of the past seven on the road, but the Over is 4-1 in the past five games in November.

Get some action on this game or others, place a bet with BetMGM today. And for more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Purdue at Wisconsin odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Saturday’s Purdue Boilermakers at Wisconsin Badgers betting odds and lines, with college football matchup analysis and picks.

The Purdue Boilermarkers (4-6, 3-4 Big Ten West) and Wisconsin Badgers (8-2, 5-2 West) square off at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisc. at 4:00 p.m. ET Saturday. We analyze the Purdue-Wisconsin odds and betting lines, while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.

Purdue at Wisconsin: Three things you need to know

1. Purdue limps into this one needing to win their final two regular-season games to attain bowl eligibility. Its passing game has been strong with 298.5 yards per game to rank 17th in the nation, but it’s 128th in rushing offense at just 77.1 yards per game.

2. Wisconsin RB Jonathan Taylor leads the Big Ten with 1,463 rushing yards and a total of 21 touchdowns.

3. The Badgers rank fourth in total yards allowed (259.7), third in the nation in passing yards allowed (154.3) and sixth in points allowed (13.4 PPG).

Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM!

Purdue at Wisconsin: Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Wisconsin 45, Purdue 17

Moneyline (ML)

You can’t bet Wisconsin (-2500) on the moneyline, as the investment is nowhere near the risk, and Purdue (+1030) doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in … well, you know.

New to sports betting? A $10 wager on Wisconsin to win outright would return a profit of $0.40.

Against the Spread (ATS)

WISCONSIN (-24.5, -106) is laying the points and will run roughshod over the leaky defense of Purdue (+24.5, -115). While Purdue has been able to stay in some games with a respectable pass offense, the Boilersmakers haven’t faced a stingy defense like Wisconsin.

Over/Under (O/U)

The OVER 47.5 (-115) is a slam-dunk play. In fact, the Badgers could take care of the Over by themselves without much trouble. The Under is super low because of Wisconsin’s sturdy defense, but the rush attack should roll up huge numbers. If this game isn’t in the high 50’s it would be a surprise.

Get some action on this game or others, place a bet with BetMGM today. And for more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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