Wisconsin Badgers vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, Odds and Picks for Tomorrow, 10/19/24

After losing their first Big Ten matchup of the season, the Wisconsin Badgers have rolled over their opponents in the last two conference games. They defeated Purdue 52-6 and Rutgers 42-7. The Badgers will look to make it 3 straight when they travel to Illinois to take on the Northwestern Wildcats. Wisconsin had a change at quarterback within the past month that could be pointed towards for their recent success. Tyler Van Dyke unfortunately went down a month ago with an injury and sophomore quarterback Braedyn Locke has taken over the duties of under center. Locke has provided the Badgers with a more dynamic options at quarterback and has unlocked a passing game that felt formulaic with Van Dyke running the offense. Locke has thrown for 8.1 yards per attempt and 6 touchdowns in the 3 and a half games he’s played in. Van Dyke was passing for 6.2 yards per attempt and only threw one touchdown in 3 games played. The Northwestern Wildcats proved last week that they can put up a fight and try to slow down Wisconsin. They defeated Maryland 37-10 on the road as 10.5 point underdogs. It was the Wildcats first win this season in the Big Ten, and they will be looking to even their record this Saturday.

The Northwestern Wildcats have proven to be a thorn in Wisconsin’s side for the past decade. Northwestern has covered against Wisconsin in 9 of the last 13 meetings against the Badgers. They also managed to win outright last year in Madison 24-10. The Wildcats were able to take down the Terrapins last week by forcing and capitalizing on four turnovers. While Locke has been good in the short time we have seen him, we have seen the young Badgers quarterbacks make some throws he shouldn’t. I expect the Wildcats to be keened in on turning over Wisconsin this Saturday. Wisconsin has lost 6 fumbles this season which is the third most in the nation. Both teams are looking to continue to continue their winning ways after big wins last weekend. I don’t think Northwestern becomes the third straight team Wisconsin rolls over.

Northwestern +7.5 available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.