Game Thread: Wisconsin Football vs. Illinois

As the calendar turns to October, the Wisconsin Badgers make their return home. Big Ten West football returns, and it begins with the Bert Bowl. Bret Bielema will be returning to Madison to face his former Wisconsin team. Overall, the series is fairly evenly matched with the Badgers winning 44 games and Illinois winning 38. However, Wisconsin has won 10 of the 11 border games in recent years.

Illinois brings in the nations leading rusher in tailback Chase Brown which will be a good test for Wisconsin’s front seven. They also have a defense ranking that is near the top in many key statistical categories. What does Wisconsin bring in to the table? Well, they’ve still got plenty of talent and Braelon Allen isn’t too shabby at the tailback position either ranking 5th in total yardage. (Asidenote: Three of the top five rushers in the Big Ten West are from this #OnBrand.

This one feels like a classic Big Ten West matchup with both teams fighting it out on the ground and then punting it away for field position. What more could you ask for? Well, plenty, but we’ve spent a lot of time on that already. Overall, our staff feels pretty good about this week’s contest going Wisconsin’s way.

Tyler: 24-17 UW

Bremen: 30-15 UW

Ryan: 31-10 UW

Owen: 27-17 UW

Jake: 24-13 UW

Nick: 31-7 UW

JJ: 24-20 UW

Here is the latest depth chart, along with players unavailable for tonight’s contest:

TV: Big Ten Network, 11 AM. CT

Streaming SlingTV Fox Sports App, Hulu TV + Live Youtube TV, FuboTV and Directv Stream

Radio Badger Sports Network. (Varsity Neo App)

Stadium:Camp Randall Stadium Madison (WI)

Weather 67 degrees, sunny

DraftKings Sportbook Line : Wisconsin, -7, Total of 43

(Odds/lines are subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.)