Wisconsin Badgers (4-1) vs. UCLA Bruins (5-0)
October 17, 2026 7:30 pm EDT
The Line: UCLA Bruins -3.5; Over/Under: 49.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Wisconsin Badgers and the UCLA Bruins meet Saturday in college football action from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Here’s a UCLA vs Wisconsin prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best UCLA vs Wisconsin pick.
Wisconsin Badgers Betting Preview
It’s been a pretty good run for the Badgers so far—minus their opener, that is. In the first game this year the Badgers lost big to Notre Dame 41-13. Since then however, Wisconsin has taken out Western Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State in succession. That gives the team a 4-1 run in the books through five games so far.
Back on October 3 versus Michigan State, the Badgers managed to score two touchdowns and a field goal before the Spartans could get on the board. Wisconsin would add a couple more touchdowns in the second half and walked away with a nice 31-3 win. QB Colton Joseph was 9-of-20 for 145 yards and three touchdowns while also leading the rush on 13 totes for 141 yards and a score.
UCLA Bruins Betting Preview
Over on the UCLA side, they got off to a nice start this year as well. The Bruins didn’t have too many issues with California in their opener, then took out San Diego State 28-10 in game two. Game three was another win, this time 52-38 over Purdue in a home matchup. UCLA followed that up with a 54-3 blowout victory over Maryland for a 4-0 start to the season.
Matched up against Oregon last weekend the Bruins were looking pretty good by halftime and sat on a 10-6 lead in the locker room. After another TD in the fourth quarter UCLA was able to hang on for the win in the end 17-15. Nico Iamaleava was 10-of-17 for 162 yards and two picks while Wayne Knight had 22 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown.
Wisconsin Badgers @ UCLA Bruins Betting Trends: Week 7
UCLA Bruins Player Prop Facts
- Heading into Week 7, Ta’Shawn James ranks T2nd amongst FBS players for interceptions (4) this season.
Wisconsin Badgers Player Prop Facts
- Heading into Week 7, Colton Joseph ranks 12th amongst qualified players for sack percentage (2.1%) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- UCLA ranks 1st among FBS teams for Q4 points per game this season (16.6).
- UCLA ranks 1st among FBS teams for average point differential in fourth quarters this season (+11.4).
- Wisconsin ranks T1st among FBS teams for red zone percentage this season (100.0).
- Wisconsin ranks 9th among FBS teams for passing yards allowed per game this season (152.6).
UCLA vs Wisconsin Prediction
I’ll stick with UCLA. The Bruins were a defensive terror against Oregon last weekend, bagging a whopping seven takeaways (five fumbles) while allowing only 12 first downs and 1-of-12 on third-down tries. UCLA had three turnovers (two picks) themselves however, and the team notched nine penalties for 78 yards in the win. Still, it was the team’s biggest win of the year so far and they’ve got a pretty promising schedule the rest of the way.
As for Wisconsin, they got past Michigan State in their last appearance thanks to 373 total yards, 17 first downs, zero turnovers and 228 rush yards. On defense the Badgers held the Spartans to just 108 pass yards and 5-of-18 on third-down tries. Wisconsin is scoring well during this four-game win streak, with 31 or more points in three of them. We could very well have a nice high total in this one.
