Football

BadgerNotes Staff Predictions: Wisconsin Football vs. Northwestern

Published

6 months ago

November 10, 2023

Wisconsin Badgers football vs. Northwestern

The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 42-7 during their game Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, at Ryan Field in Evanston, IL. Mjs 10082022 Uwfootball Badgers Ec267830

A three-game losing streak is a tough pill to swallow, and that’s exactly what the Wisconsin football team is facing heading into their tenth game of the season. Losing to Ohio State is one thing. But losing to Indiana is a gut punch to the program and Wisconsin Badgers fans.

They will look to avoid even further damage this season when they host the Northwestern Wildcats at Camp Randall tomorrow.

Northwestern comes into the matchup with a 4-5 record, which is a lot better than most people thought they would be at this point in the season. They are not going to be a cakewalk we all assumed they would be at the start of the season.

BadgerNotes Staff Predictions: Wisconsin Football vs. Northwestern

Christian Borman (6-3): Wisconsin 17-14

It feels like Wisconsin-Northwestern games are always ugly. Given the situation for both of these teams, I don’t anticipate it being any different.

My homerism for this team is running low as of late. But I think I have just enough in me to hope that the Indiana loss was a wake-up call for the program and they will come out determined not to embarrass themselves for a second straight week.

I think is still going to be an ugly game. I haven’t seen the Badgers play a complete game since their win over Purdue. I won’t believe they can do it until I see it.

Dillon Graff (6-3): Wisconsin 17-10

Man…it’s been a tough couple of weeks for the Wisconsin football team. If you’ve come to me looking for optimism, keep scrolling.

If I’m being honest, I think the Badgers will find a way to win this game (because I’m a homer), considering Northwestern has one of the most putrid offenses in the country. The Wildcats tend to lean on their passing game — which bodes well for Mike Tressel’s defense.

That said, Wisconsin’s offense is terrible right now. If UW has to lean on the combination of Jackson Acker and Cade Yacamelli in the running game again — and Braedyn Locke throwing 40+ times — this one will come down to who makes fewer mistakes and plays clean football — which is something Wisconsin isn’t great at.

I’ve already accepted that whatever happens on Saturday will likely frustrate me, but nothing suggests Wisconsin football is close to turning a corner this season. I’ll take UW in an ugly football game. That’s all I got.

Jake Maier (5-4): Wisconsin 24-17

Oh, brother.

Usually, I’d feel confident about a blowout win against Northwestern, but this Badgers team hasn’t given me a reason to be that confident in the last few weeks.

I’m interested to see if Wisconsin puts an emphasis on the run game. Northwestern’s pass defense is currently ranked at 3rd in the Big Ten, which is something I didn’t expect going into this year. I think Wisconsin has the receiver talent to outmatch the Wildcats secondary, but I think leaning on the running back tandem of Jackson Acker and Cade Yacamelli if Braelon Allen can’t go would be a good idea.

I don’t think it’ll be a comfortable win, and if you’re a gambling person, I wouldn’t touch UW covering a -11.5-point spread with a ten-foot pole. I still think Wisconsin comes out on top, but it’ll be close. Give me 24-17 Wisconsin.

Dylan Buboltz (6-3): Wisconsin 20-10

We’re about to learn a lot about this team Saturday. Despite 4 wins, northwestern is not a good team and is terrible on the road, only averaging 11 points a game.

Can Wisconsin get the running game going? I liked what Jackson Acker and Cade Yacamelli did against Indiana. However, I feel much better if it was Braelon Allen in the backfield.

I don’t see Northwestern scoring a ton of points. I like where the UW defense is at. I think this is low-scoring, but I think this team fights back and bounces back to win. UW 20 NU 10

Ryan Eilers (5-4): Wisconsin 17-13

There’s nothing much more demoralizing for a team or fanbase than losing to an unusually bad Indiana team. Nine games in I am not sure what this team’s identity is as they enter the final stretch of the season.

The best I can conclude is that the Wisconsin football team is “consistently inconsistent” and I don’t see that changing with three regular-season games left to play.

The goal this week is incredibly simple — just win the fricking game. I don’t care if it’s by 1 point or 30 points. Zooming out, Wisconsin football is a Nolan Rucci “thicc-6” against Illinois away from losing four straight games.

This is a must-win for many reasons.

I think Wisconsin does just enough and sneaks out a 17-13 win but I don’t feel great about it.

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Christian Borman

Christian Borman was born and raised in Wisconsin and covers the Badgers football and basketball programs, plus some recruiting for BadgersNotes.com. He previously covered the Wisconsin Badgers for years as the site expert for Badger of Honor of the Fansided Network.