247Sports recently reviewed the biggest trap game for every Big Ten team during the 2024 football season.
The service’s pick for the Wisconsin Badgers: their contest at Northwestern on Oct. 19.
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It’s hard to disagree with the selection. Wisconsin’s game at Northwestern finishes a three-game stretch of vs. Purdue and at Rutgers. It’s the easiest stretch of Wisconsin’s season, and immediately precedes the toughest five-week period — vs. Penn State, at Iowa, bye week, vs. Oregon, then at Nebraska. Northwestern would be a classic lookahead spot before the most important stretch of the season.
Also, Wisconsin will travel to Evanston, Illinois to face the Wildcats not at Ryan Field, but instead at a temporary lakefront field. Calling it a stadium may be a bit of a reach. Finding energy on the road at Northwestern is usually a challenge. That will especially be the case with no more than a few thousand people on hand to watch the game, many in a professional capacity.
Northwestern is No. 74 in ESPN SP+ entering the season and is expected to take a significant step back after an 8-5 finish to 2023. But regardless of the Wildcats’ caliber, they always seem to give Wisconsin trouble. They even coasted to a two-touchdown win over the Badgers in 2023.
Every college football schedule needs a highlighted trap game or two. When the sport is at its best, top teams in the country could realistically lose to any opponent they play.
Northwestern’s spot on Wisconsin’s 2024 slate perfectly embodies what a trap game looks like. It’s a lookahead spot, after an easy stretch of games, against a sneaky team, in a sleepy atmosphere.
That means Luke Fickell and his team deserve credit if they travel to Northwestern’s ‘stadium’ and leave with a decisive victory.
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