How do the Badgers match up against Northwestern this weekend?
The Wisconsin Badgers travel to Martin Stadium along Lake Michigan to take on Northwestern. Kickoff is at 11:00 a.m. CT.
The Badgers are coming off their second-straight dominating win over a Big Ten opponent, Rutgers, 42-7. Wisconsin is a 7-point favorite this Saturday.
What should Badgers fans know about the Northwestern Wildcats?
Opponent Preview
David Braun’s Wildcats enter the third Saturday in October with their second consecutive 3-3 record. However, they return to Evanston with momentum after a 37-10 win at Maryland. The Wildcats’ defense was stellar last week at College Park, forcing four Terrapin turnovers.
Mike Wright started the first two games at quarterback but backup Jack Lausch has been the Wildcats’ signal caller for the last four games, passing for 726 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. Lausch is a dual-threat quarterback and enters this game as the second-leading team rusher behind running back Cam Porter.
Despite allowing two sacks, the Northwestern offensive line has a strong game against the Terrapins. Left tackle Caleb Tiernan and right guard Josh Thompson gathered PFF honors for Week 7.
In the passing game, Bryce Kirtz emerged as Lausch’s favorite target. Kirtz, who was second on the Wildcats in receiving yards last season, has collected two straight 100-yard receiving games against Indiana and Maryland. Wisconsin must also account for Northwestern’s no. 2 wideout, A.J. Henning, who is second on the team with 357 receiving yards.
Entering the 2024 season, the Wildcats were expected to be one of the top rushing defenses in the country. So far, Northwestern is fifth in the Big Ten, allowing 87.5 rushing yards per game. However, the Wildcats are getting gashed through the air, ranking second-to-last in passing defense with 261.2 passing yards per game.
Linebacker Xander Mueller leads the Wildcats’ defense with a team-leading 41 tackles and four pass deflections. Northwestern is getting great production from junior linebacker Mac Uihlein, with 38 tackles and two sacks. Defensive lineman Aidan Hubbard leads the Wildcats with three sacks, and Anto Saka is second with 2.5 sacks.
Score Prediction
Last season, the Wildcats came into Camp Randall Stadium and flat-out embarrassed the Badgers, 24-10. The game led to some soul-searching in the Wisconsin locker room. You can imagine this game was circled on the Badgers’ schedule after what happened in 2023.
Given how well the Badgers are humming on offense in conference play, I expect that to continue into Evanston.
Prediction: Wisconsin 30-10.