College Football: Michigan Wolverines vs Wisconsin Badgers Sports Betting Guide
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BIG10 play officially begins Saturday morning in Madison, Wisconsin as the 10th-ranked Wolverines visit the 14th-ranked Badgers, both with title aspirations. Both teams come into this matchup with 2-0 records, as expected, though the Wolverines have looked considerably more shakey against Middle Tennesee State and Army. In what will certainly be a litmus test for each team as the season approaches October, let’s take a deeper dive to try and find an edge.
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Michigan Wolverines @Wisconsin Badgers
Saturday, September 21st, 2019 – 12:00 pm EST
Wisconsin -3.5, O/U 44.5 (via PointsBet)
For Wolverine’s head coach Jim Harbaugh, for better or worse all of his eggs are now in quarterback Shea Patterson’s basket to take this team to the next level and potentially save his job. History is not on his side, however, as in his last 10 games on the road against lower-ranked opponents he is just 1-9 ATS. Additionally, in Michigan’s last 14 road games as an underdog versus a ranked opponent, they are just 3-11 ATS. As with most programs, this team is mostly limited to however far their quarterback can take them, which potentially spells bad news for the Wolverines yet again. Through two games, Patterson has thrown for 410 yards and just three touchdowns, with a completion percentage of only 62.1%. His two fumbles against Army nearly cost the Wolverines the game and ended their season before it started.
While he hasn’t exactly faced the stiffest completion, Badgers junior quarterback Jack Coan has played well through his first two games of the season throwing for 562 yards and five touchdowns. Going back to last season, he has now led the Badgers to four straight wins and is coming off a career game against Central Michigan where he completed 26-of-33 passes on the way to 363 yards and three touchdowns. Badgers sophomore running back Jonathan Taylor has picked up right where he left off in 2018 thus far, rushing for 237 yards (6.8 yards per carry) and five touchdowns through just two games. With the Badgers 110-0 point differential through their first two games, they became the first team since 1980 to score over 100 points and allow none to this point in the season.
Bottom Line?
You have to go all the way back to 2001 for the last time the Wolverines went to Madison and won a football game. Michigan does have the added bonus of getting a starting offensive tackle and wide receiver in the lineup for the first time this season, but it will be both of their first significant action and could take a game to adjust.
While it may have been against two of the weakest opponents on their schedule, the Badgers still boast a point differential of +110, and will now face an offense who has yet to find their identity under new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. With Harbaugh already creeping toward the hot seat after yet another relatively slow start, it seems to be a matter of time before he gets in on the play-calling once again.
On the other hand, Wisconsin quarterback Coan has yet to see a defense of Michigan’s caliber, and I expect him to struggle as well. I can easily see this being a classic 17-10 BIG10 slugfest where neither offense has much success moving the football. While I lean Wisconsin in the game, I think the total has been inflated and provides a ton of value in a matchup featuring two teams that know each other well.
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TJ Perun is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from TJ, check out his archive and follow him @JohnnyCovers.