The Indiana Hoosiers suffered their first loss of the season two weeks ago and took a terrible hit last week with the loss of quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. to injury. Indiana now moves forward with its pursuit of a nice bowl bid when it challenges the Wisconsin Badgers Saturday afternoon in Madison. This line on this game experienced some serious turbulence in the early betting, adding points to the underdog Hoosiers. How are we playing this game with our free college football pick?
College Football Betting Odds
College football betting odds opened Wisconsin at -10 for this contest, with an over/under of around 49. Early betting action then steamed the Badgers to -14 and dropped that total to 45.
Hoosiers Betting Preview
Indiana bounced back from that loss at Ohio State two weeks ago to beat Maryland last week 27-11. The Hoosiers started slowly and only led 7-3 at the half. But Indiana then scored the first 20 points of the second half to pull away for the victory and the cover as an 11-point favorite. The Hoosiers out-gained the Terrapins 349-300, out-rushed Maryland 234-59, dominated time of possession by a 36:24 split, and won the turnover battle 3-1, creating at least a +10 points differential. And the only touchdown the Indiana defense allowed came with a minute and a half left in the game. However, the Hoosiers lost starting QB Penix to a knee injury in the third quarter, and he’s now gone for the season. Sophomore Jack Tuttle, a relatively highly regarded transfer from Utah, hit on 5/5 passes in relief last week, piloting the Hoosiers to 10 points on three drives, and connected on a 2-point conversion. Indiana has now out-gained and out-rushed four of its last five opponents. At 5-1 in conference play, the Hoosiers probably won’t catch Ohio State in the Big Ten East, so they’re now playing for as big a bowl berth as they can garner.
Badgers Betting Preview
Meanwhile, Wisconsin is 2-1 on the season, after losing at Northwestern two weeks ago 17-7. The Badgers then had last week’s scheduled rivalry bout with Minnesota canceled, their third cancellation of the season. Wisconsin fell behind to the Wildcats 7-0 five minutes into the game two weeks ago, tied the game at 7-7 a few moments later but trailed 14-7 at the half. The Badgers then came up totally empty in the second half to lose outright as seven-point favorites. Bucky actually out-gained Northwestern 366-263, out-rushed the ‘Cats 136-24, and dominated time of possession by a 37:23 split. But they also turned the ball over five times and converted on just 3/16 third-down situations. Wisconsin opened this season with a 45-7 win over Illinois, then pounded Michigan in Ann Arbor 49-11. But those wins don’t look all that great now, considering both those teams kind of stink. At 2-1 in conference play, the Badgers need to win out from here and get Northwestern to lose another game to have a chance at playing in the Big Ten championship game.
Hoosiers-Badgers Recent History
Wisconsin owns a 10-game series winning streak in the series with Indiana, going 8-1-1 ATS in the process, taking those games by an average score of 51-15. Most recently, three seasons ago, the Badgers beat the Hoosiers 45-17, covering as 13-point favorites.
- Get more details: Indiana at Wisconsin Match-up Stats
College Football Betting Trends
- Indiana is 10-5 SU, 11-4 ATS over its last 15 Big Ten games.
- Indiana is 6-1 ATS its last six games as a double-digit underdog.
- Wisconsin is 54-17 SU, 40-30-1 ATS in Big Ten play under Coach Chryst.
Totals Report
Overs are 4-2 in Hoosiers games this season, which are averaging 55 total points. Overs are 2-1 in Badgers games this season, which are averaging 45 points. Overs are 6-1 over the last seven meetings between these teams.
