Badgers open as massive favorites vs. Rutgers despite coming off loss

The Wisconsin Badgers are looking to bounce back this weekend against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights after a disappointing outcome against the Iowa Hawkeyes in a 30-0 loss.

It was a rough one on all fronts for the Badgers, as they couldn’t move the ball offensively, made a quarterback change, and struggled against the pass defensively. After talking about preparation during the week, Wisconsin looked completely flat in their first rivalry game of the season, reverting all the talk from their upset over USC the week before.

Now, they must turn things around quickly, as they take on a 2-6 Rutgers team that has gone 1-4 in the Big Ten. Rutgers opened the season with one of the biggest upset defeats, losing by 16 to UMass as a near 30-point favorite.

The Scarlet Knights followed that up with seven-point losses to both Boston College and USC before notching their first win against Howard. Since then, they’ve been blown out by Indiana and Northwestern, while their lone win has come against Maryland, who have done even worse this season at 2-6 and 0-5 in the Big Ten.

But last weekend, Rutgers fought hard in a 28-21 loss to Michigan that went down to the wire in the fourth quarter. The game was tied early in the fourth quarter before Michigan went on a long 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that ended up being the game-winning score.

Now, Michigan dominated Rutgers in a ton of areas. They had 427 yards to Rutgers’s 249. They converted 12 of 16 third downs versus 3 of 10. They had 23 first downs to 9. They also outran the Scarlet Knights and dominated time of possession 39:06 to 20:54.

But Michigan had two drives that ended in missed field goals, including one in the red zone, while Rutgers had some key explosive plays that kept them afloat. AJ Surace completed just three passes in the game for Rutgers, but they went for 80, 32, and 11 yards, while the Scarlet Knights managed to average 4.8 yards per carry on the ground.

Going into this one, the Badgers offense is the biggest question, with a quarterback change potentially happening. Still, they’re seen as massive favorites ahead of kickoff.

Wisconsin opened as a 16.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and that had been bumped up to 17.5, with the total at 45.5 points. So, the Badgers are expected to win handily. For reference, Michigan was a 16.5-point favorite on the road against Rutgers last weekend before winning by seven.

We’ve seen Wisconsin flourish and also disappoint with big spreads this season. Where will this weekend fall?