Michigan Wolverines vs Wisconsin Badgers Game Preview and Prediction - 10/02/2021

Game Time: 12:00 pm ET, Saturday, October 2, 2021

Venue:  Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, WI 

Where to Watch:  Fox

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Michigan +2.5, Wisconsin -2.5; Over/Under:  43.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Michigan +2, Wisconsin -2; Over/Under:  43.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Michigan +2, Wisconsin -2; Over/Under:  43.5 points

 

Michigan Wolverines:  4-0 (1st place, Big Ten East)

Wisconsin Badgers:  1-2 (6th place, Big Ten West)

 

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Michigan Wolverines:  won at home on September 25 against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 20-13.

Wisconsin Badgers:  lost on a neutral site on Sep. 25 against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 41-13.

 

 

 

Michigan is coming into this college football game with a 4-0 record overall and this will be their first road game this season. This will be their 2nd conference game of the season on their schedule as they are 1-0 in conference games this season. Their 4 wins this year came against the Western Michigan Broncos, the Washington Huskies, the Northern Illinois Huskies, and Rutgers in their last game. Cade McNamara played alright in their last game as he completed 9/16 passes for 163 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. Blake Corum led the team in rushing with 68 yards on 21 carries but it was Hassan Haskins who had the 2 touchdowns on the ground with 41 rushing yards on 12 carries. It was a quiet day for the receiving corps as Mike Sainristil led the receivers with 51 yards on 1 reception. Nikhai Hill-Green led the defense with 6 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones while RJ Moten was right behind him with 5 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones. Aidan Hutchinson had the only sack in that game for the defense and no one came away from that one with an interception. They have scored 161 points in their first 4 games and they have allowed their opponents to score 47 points against them. Their offense is averaging 454.8 YPG while their defense is allowing 303.3 YPG.

 

 

Wisconsin is coming into this contest with a 1-2 record overall and they are 1-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 2nd conference matchup of the season as they are 0-1 in conference games this year. Their 1 win came against the Eastern Michigan Eagles while their 2 losses came against the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in their last game. Graham Mertz struggled a lot in their last game as he completed 18/41 passes for 240 yards, 1 touchdown and 4 interceptions. They had a quiet day on the ground in that one as Chez Mellusi led the team in rushing with 54 yards on 18 carries. Kendric Pryor led the receivers with 69 yards and 1 TD on 6 receptions while Danny Davis III was right behind him with 64 yards on 5 receptions. Leo Chenal led the defense with 6 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones. Nick Herbig led the team in sacks with 2 as multiple players recorded a sack in that game but no one on the defense came up with an interception in that one. They have scored 57 points in their first 3 games while they have allowed their opponents to score 64 points against them. Their offense is averaging 397 YPG while their defense is allowing 210.3 YPG.

 

Mich is coming into this game as a slight underdog here. It is their first road game of the season but they have a much better team than Wisc does. Michigan's defense has been suffocating teams on offense and has not allowed more than 14 points in a single game so far. Wisconsin just had their defense shredded in their last game by a Notre Dame team that was not looking that great on offense in the games leading up to that one. Wisconsin will struggle to score on the Michigan defense in this game and Michigan will likely wear down the Wisconsin defense with their running. The best bet to make in this game is on Michigan to cover the spread and on the moneyline for them to win in an upset here.

Michigan Wisconsin Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 2, 2021 (12:00 pm ET start time) is Michigan 23 Wisconsin 10.

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Michigan Wolverines: 161-189 ATS in all games. 106-123 ATS against conference opponents.

Wisconsin Badgers: 189-165 ATS in all games. 135-127 ATS as a favorite. 96-80 ATS in home games. 126-111 ATS against conference opponents.

 

 

Michigan Wolverines:  R. Bell (WR) out for season - Knee injury.

Wisconsin Badgers:  J. Turner (LB) Out Sat - Undisclosed injury. F. Hicks (CB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. Q. Easterling (FB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury.

 

 

Michigan Wolverines: Blake Corum is one player to watch in this game. He leads his team in rushing and in touchdowns scored and he has been having some massive games recently. Look for him to get a lot of touches here for big runs and scoring plays as he is an explosive player when he gets the ball in his hands.

 

Wisconsin Badgers: Chez Mellusi is one player to watch here. He leads his team in rushing and in touchdowns scored. His team will need to establish a good running game here if they want to beat this team so look for him to get a lot of touches early as they try to take control of this game on the ground.

 

"Gritty game. It wasn't pretty, but when they start making a space for pretty on the scoreboard then we'll worry about that." - Head coach Jim Harbaugh on their win against Rutgers.

 

 

 

"We know that we're inconsistent, that it's a struggle and the best way to approach that is to own our part in it and then together we can try to fix it." - Paul Chryst after losing to Notre Dame in their last game.

 

 

WR Baldwin, Daylen 

WR Johnson, Cornelius JR

WR Sainristil, Mike 

TE All, Erick 

QB McNamara, Cade 

RB Haskins, Hassan 

 

WR Pryor, Kendric 

WR Davis III, Danny 

TE Ferguson, Jake 

QB Mertz, Graham 

RB Mellusi, Chez 

FB Chenal, John 

 

Passing: C. McNamara (534)

Rushing: B. Corum (475)

Receiving: C. Johnson (198)

Touchdowns: B. Corum (7)

Sacks: A. Hutchinson (4.5)

Tackles: J. Ross (15)

 

Passing: G. Mertz (566)

Rushing: C. Mellusi (319)

Receiving: D. Davis III (193)

Touchdowns: C. Mellusi (2)

Sacks: N. Herbig (3.5)

Tackles: S. Nelson (12)

 

Coaches:

Michigan Wolverines: Jim Harbaugh (7th season)

Wisconsin Badgers: Paul Chryst (7th season)

 

76 degrees F cloudy, 74% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 8 mph wind speeds SW.