Wisconsin vs Minnesota College Football Odds Guide

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-6) take on the Wisconsin Badgers (8-3) at TCF Bank Stadium for the Paul Bunyan’s Axe, along with a chance for the Gophers to move into a possible bowl game. No matter how you slice this NCAA Football betting matchup, this game looks destined for another Wisconsin win, given the way the Badgers have embarrassed the Gophers for the last decade. The good news, however, is that a charged-up Minnesota team will have an opportunity to put an end to that dominance in this week’s online sports betting lines. Follow the preview below, as we give a succinct breakdown of this upcoming game.

#Gophers announce depth chart for Saturday’s game against Wisconsin. https://t.co/fvCCSNaZp9

— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) November 27, 2015

A Closer Look At the Badgers @ Golden Gophers NCAA Football Odds & Game Info

Venue: TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN Date: Saturday, November 28, 2015 Time: 3:30 PM ET TV: BTN NCAAF Lines: Wisconsin (+2.5) at Minnesota (-2.5)

Betting on the Minnesota Golden Gophers

This season, the Gophers have come against tough opponents such as TCU, Northwestern, Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan and Ohio State, recording heartbreaking losses in the process. However, apart from the game against Nebraska, all the defeats have been “respectable losses” with Minnesota commendably staying competitive against these ranked opponents. Sadly, though, none of their five wins have come against anyone impressive, meaning they’ll need to impress by winning this “big” game to become bowl eligible for the fourth straight season. In their last game, the Gophers beat the Illinois Fighting Illini 32-23 last Saturday. In that game, Minnesota could not get anything in their passing game, forcing the offense to turn to RB Shannon Brooks, to carry the team. Brooks impressively rushed for 174 yards on 17 carries with three TDs in the win, with QB Mitch Leidner doing a soft job with 15 of 25 completed passes for 88 yards with one touchdown. Prior to the playing the Illini, Leidner had recorded four straight games of at least 250 passing yards, but he suffered a cut on his right hand and an injury on his left foot, limiting his game. He is, however, expected to be healthy this Saturday, seeking to lead the Gophers’ offense past the stingy Wisconsin defense that has not given up a touchdown pass in seven of their 11 games this season. Defensively, the Gophers are giving up 25.6 PPG with 355.6 yards per game. Antonio Johnson leads the D-line with 87 tackles while Jalen Myrick has three interceptions. Unlike the offense that has a real tough task at hand, the defense is likely to have a much lighter job, going against a middling Badgers offense that is averaging 138.1 YPG rushing with 164 YPG passing and has struggled to find attacking consistency, often relying on their defense to eke out close low-scoring victories.

Betting on the Wisconsin Badgers

To understand how good the Badgers have been this season, note that their three losses this season have come against Alabama, Iowa and Northwestern, who have all been ranked in the top-25. Despite that pedigree, Wisconsin could not mutter some offense in their previous game, losing 13-7 to Northwestern last Saturday. QB Joel Stave struggled all night for Wisconsin, throwing 20 of his 34 passes for 299 yards with two INTs and no TDs against Northwestern. RB Corey Clement, who has been the brightest spark in the team, could also not do much, finishing with only 24 yards on 10 carries with one TD, with WR Jazz Peavy securing five receptions for 88 yards in the loss. A win against Northwestern would have kept the Badgers in a position to play in a big bowl game, but after their unfortunate loss (that put an end to their five-game winning streak), the Badgers are back to the drawing board, calculating ways of taking care of business against the far-from-solid Gophers’ defense that is allowing an average 33.6 PPG in their last five games. Equally important to the task is Wisconsin’s trusted D-line that is ranked among the best in the nation , having allowed just five touchdown passes on the year and given up an average of 266.3 YPG total. In addition, this defense is incredibly giving up just 12.4 points per contest. Impressive as they’ve been, the Badgers’ defense will need to keep their running defense at the very best, particularly against Brooks, who delivered an emphatic performance for Minnesota in the previous win against Illinois.

Wisconsin vs Minnesota Key Betting Trends

• The Gophers are 5-1 ATS in their last six games • The Badgers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games • The Gophers are 1-4 SU in their last five games • The Badgers are 5-1 SU in their last six games • The Gophers are 4-1 ATS in their last five games when playing Wisconsin • The Badgers are 5-0 SU in their last five road games against Minnesota • The total has gone OVER in five of Minnesota’s last six games • The total has gone UNDER in seven of Wisconsin’s last nine games

Wisconsin at Minnesota Game Betting Prediction

The Gophers are playing with a lot of heart, and have the bowl game in their mind, which should see them give a solid game here. Meanwhile, Wisconsin has been better all year, but will be playing a tough Minnesota team on the road. As things stand, therefore, expect the Gophers to play a hell-of-a-game and hang with Wisconsin until late in this Saturday contest, but the Badgers should be able to use their mean defense to clamp the hosts and see out another close win plus cover in an UNDER total affair.