Wisconsin Badgers predictions: Game 1 vs. Utah State
A new Wisconsin college football season is upon us -- a day early, for some -- which means the return of the weekly predictions from around the web.
The Badgers' schedule doesn't exactly start off with a bang, especially compared to the last few seasons, and the picks this week reflect that. Nevertheless, it is always interesting to see projected scores as well (hint: not many see a close game).
One bit of housekeeping news: While we've run this piece on Thursdays since we started, after this week we're going to move it to Fridays. This will allow a bit more (hopefully) culling of picks as some people wait until Friday to post their predictions. Plus, with few marquee matchups on paper, every little bit will help.
With that out of the way, here are this week’s predictions from around the web and Twitter:
The Associated Press' Ralph D. Russo: Wisconsin 48, Utah State 14.
Pete Fiutak of Collegefootballnews.com: Wisconsin 40, Utah State 13. "The formula should continue to work. The Wisconsin defense will be terrific, and running game will be a bear from the start, and there will be just enough from the passing game to get by. Utah State will be game for about a half, but then the time off possession battle will lean too heavily in Bucky’s way in a solid opening win for a very, very good Badger team."
Tom Dienhart of BTN.com: Wisconsin 40, Utah State 9.
J.P. Scott of Athlon Sports: Wisconsin 52, Utah State 6. "The Badgers lost some top-notch talent on both sides of the ball, but they are still loaded with some of the best players in the Big Ten – if not the nation – at several positions. Utah State may have an athlete here or there who could give Wisconsin some headaches early on, but eventually depth will become a factor and the stage will be too big for head coach Matt Wells' young Aggies. After the rust and butterflies wear off in the first quarter, look for the Badgers to pull away on the back of a balanced offense that we haven't seen the likes of in Madison in quite some time."
Lindy Sports' Matt Lowe: Wisconsin 38, Utah State 9.
Josh Slagter of MLive.com: Wisconsin 34. Utah State 10.
The Oklahoman's Berry Tramel: Wisconsin 45, Utah State 14.
Not surprisingly, all seven of CBSSports.com analysts are picking Wisconsin to win but just four think the Badgers will cover a 29.5-point spread.
All six analysts at USAToday.com pick Wisconsin to win.
Another non-shocker: All three Athlon Sports analysts have Wisconsin winning.
Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press: Wisconsin 45, Utah State 17.
Jesse Temple of Land of 10: Wisconsin 48, Utah State 7.
Bill Connelly of SB Nation: His S&P+ projection has it Wisconsin 38, Utah State 14.
Athon Sports' Mitch Light: Wisconsin 37, Utah State 10.
All nine analysts for the Dallas Morning News think Wisconsin will win, but only four think the Badgers will cover a 27.5-point spread.
David Kenyon of Bleacher Report: Wisconsin 37, Utah State 13. "Utah State defended the run poorly on several occasions last year, and the front seven has since undergone a considerable facelift. That isn't great news against a Wisconsin offense that will pound the ball with Bradrick Shaw and Chris James."
It's another unanimous choice as all the ESPN.com Big Ten contributors picked Wisconsin to win.
No one on the staff of KSL.com (of Salt Lake City) thinks the Aggies will knock off the Badgers. The closest score is 21-10. And of the 10 pickers, the most points they see Utah State scoring is 17 -- but eight have the Aggies tallying 14 or fewer and all but the one previously mentioned predicts Wisconsin with at least 34 points. But, hey, the "Fan Base Optimism" is listed at 6.1 percent (as of this writing), so there's that.
https://storify.com/dave_heller/week-1-no-9-wisconsin-vs-utah-state
