Indiana at Wisconsin
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
This Saturday the No.7 Wisconsin Badgers will look to avoid a major let down when they host the Indiana Hoosiers in Big Ten play. The Badgers struggled early last week against Purdue, but wound up coming away with a 34-13 win on the road. The Hoosiers nearly pulled off a huge upset last week, but wound up falling to Iowa 18-13 for their third straight loss. The Badgers have dominated the series late, winning five in a row by an average of 20 points per game, and the oddsmakers seem to think that streak will continue, as the current odds have the Badgers favored by 21.5-points over the Hoosiers.
Indiana (4-5, 0-5 Big Ten): Last week’s loss against the Hawkeyes was the third game the Hoosiers have lost by seven points or less in conference play. Indiana did a great job of forcing Iowa to kick field goals early, but when it mattered most the Hoosiers couldn’t come up with the big play. Indiana allowed Iowa to go 88 yards in just three plays to take the lead with just under three minutes to play, and with a chance to win the game, Indiana wide out Damarlo Belcher dropped the game winning touchdown and the Hoosiers went home empty handed.
While the Indiana defense did a great job keep the Hawkeyes in check, the Hoosiers offense struggled to get much of anything going, scoring just 13 offensive points. The Hoosiers got a solid performance out of quarterback Ben Chappell, who threw for 222 yards on 27 of 46 passing, well under his season average. The running game continued to struggle, as the Hoosiers managed just 91 yards on the ground. It doesn’t figure to get any easier this week, as the Badgers come in ranked 21st, allowing just over 315 yards a game.
Wisconsin (8-1, 4-1 Big Ten): To everyone surprise the Badgers trailed 10-6 at half to the Boilermakers, but Wisconsin exploded for 28 second half points to win easily. With starting running back John Clay hurting his knee earily, backup Montee Ball was asked to carry a little more of the workload, and he responded with a big time performance, rushing for a career-high 127 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Clay finished with 42 yards on 12 carries, and is listed as questionable for the game this weekend against Indiana.
The Badgers and Boilermakers each finished with 303 yards of total offense last week, but the Wisconsin defense came up with the big plays, picking off Purdue quarterback Sean Robinson three times and also recovered a fumble. With Indiana expected to throw it early and often this week, the Badgers defense will have plenty of chances to make big plays this weekend.
Looking at the Odds: Even though its a ton of points, I think the Badgers are the right play in this one. Indiana has been outscored 81-23 in their two Big Ten road games this season, while the Badgers have dominated at home this season. It is going to be hard for Indiana to come in and play with a high level of intensity after their heartbreaking loss against Iowa. I look for Wisconsin’s offensive line to dominate this game offensively, and on defense I think the Badgers will have no trouble keeping the Hoosiers in check at home. My final score prediction is Wisconsin 41, Indiana 16.
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