Big Ten: Northwestern vs Wisconsin 10/8/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Northwestern Wildcats and Wisconsin Badgers do battle Saturday in a week 6 Big Ten college football game at Ryan Field. The Wisconsin Badgers look to get back to a .500 record. The Northwestern Wildcats look to snap a 4-game losing streak.

The Wisconsin Badgers have won 3 of their last 5 road games. Graham Mertz is completing 63.2 percent of his passes for 997 yards, 8 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Chimere Dike and Skyler Bell have combined for 477 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, while Clay Cundiff has 9 receptions. The Wisconsin Badgers ground game is averaging 169.8 yards per contest, and Braelon Allen leads the way with 499 yards and 6 touchdowns. Defensively, Wisconsin is allowing 22 points and 317.4 yards per game. Maema Njongmeta leads the Wisconsin Badgers with 36 tackles, Nick Herbig has 4 sacks and John Torchio has 2 interceptions.

The Northwestern Wildcats have lost 5 straight home games. Ryan Hilinski is completing 59 percent of his passes for 1,429 yards, 6 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Malik Washington and Evan Hull have combined for 690 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, while Donny Navarro III has 20 receptions. The Northwestern Wildcats ground game is averaging 119 yards per contest, and Hull leads the way with 415 yards and 3 touchdowns. Defensively, Northwestern is allowing 24.8 points and 384.2 yards per game. Bryce Gallagher leads the Northwestern Wildcats with 50 tackles, Adetomiwa Adebawore has 2 sacks and Xander Mueller has 2 interceptions.

The Badgers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 conference games and 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games overall. The Wildcats are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games and 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games overall. The over is 5-1 in Badgers last 6 conference games. The under is 4-0 in Wildcats last 4 games overall. The Badgers are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 meetings in Northwestern and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 meetings.

The Wisconsin Badgers are the more talented team and should be favored. The Northwestern Wildcats just aren’t what they’ve been in past years, and playing at home hasn’t helped much. However, Wisconsin has issues of its own, as the offense has issues finishing drives and the defense isn’t nearly as good as it’s been in the past. Northwestern did hang around with Penn State last week, and maybe that’s a turning point in its season. Not my favorite game on the board, but I’d grab the points here if forced to pick.