Penn State football: Wisconsin odds, injury report, & predictions

Penn State football will hit the road off the bye week to take on a surging Wisconsin team in Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday night. The No. 3 Nittany Lions will look to extend their undefeated record to 7-0 and potentially set up a top-four matchup with Ohio State in Beaver Stadium next weekend.

The spread suggests that James Franklin and the Nittany Lions should be able to emerge from Madison with a relatively easy win on the scoreboard. But can Penn State exorcise its bye-week demons and take care of business against the Badgers?

Injury Report

Penn State:

Penn State football players out indefinitely with “significant” or “long-term” injuries:

• KJ Winston, S
• Andrew Rappleyea, TE
• Keon Wylie, LB
• Zuriah Fisher, DE
• Cam Wallace, RB

In addition to those above, the following Penn State football players listed on the program’s Week 7 injury report. The Big Ten requires updated availability reports to be released two hours before kickoff:

• Kaden Saunders, WR
• Jake Spencer, WR

Wisconsin:

The following players were listed on the Wisconsin injury report for Week 8:

• Chez Mellusi
• Bryson Green
• Tyler Van Dyke
• Joe Griffin
• Kamo’I Latu
• Tyrell Henry
• JT Seagreaves
• Tamer Dalloul
• Evan Brown
• Leyton Nelson
• Rob Booker
• James Thompson

Betting Odds (all via DraftKings Sportsbook):

Spread: Penn State (-6.5) vs. Wisconsin

Penn State football has held firm most of the week as a 6.5-point favorite over Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions are 2-4 against the spread this season, while the Badgers are 3-4.

Moneyline: Penn State football -245

Placing a $245 bet on Penn State to beat Wisconsin would pay $100. Penn State leads the all-time series 11-9. The last meeting was a 16-10 Penn State win in Madison to open the 2021 season.

Penn State has won five straight over Wisconsin, seven of the last eight games played, and three of the past four in Camp Randall Stadium.

Game total: over/under 47.5

The total has gone under in four of Penn State’s six games this season and over in four of Wisconsin’s seven games.

Penn State vs. Wisconsin Game Predictions: (7-5)

Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

This feels like a game that is a classic letdown spot for Penn State football. Historically, James Franklin has struggled to get his teams to perform off a bye. After an off week, the Nittany Lions are 3-7 against Big Ten opponents. That number should, and does, alarm plenty of Penn State fans. There is also the added lookahead spot to next week’s big matchup against No. 4 Ohio State in Beaver Stadium.

While Penn State is a far superior team talent-wise to Wisconsin, this game seems like it could be closer than many fans want. Ultimately, an upset isn’t out of the question.

The Badgers looked much improved in their past three games, winning 23-3 over Northwestern, 42-7 over Rutgers, and 52-6 over Purdue. Now, those aren’t necessarily quality opponents, but it’s still impressive to win three consecutive games by those margins, especially with two of them coming on the road.

This spread tells us that much of the public thinks Wisconsin can keep it close and possibly beat the No. 3 team in the country. If Penn State football plays to its potential, I think the Nittany Lions could win by four touchdowns. But we haven’t seen that type of dominant performance against a quality opponent since the season opener against West Virginia.

I think this game remains close, but Penn State holds on for the win and covers the spread. I also expect it to be a rather low-scoring contest, as either Wisconsin limits the possessions and naturally keeps the total down, or Penn State dominates and shuts down the Badger offense. In the end, a touchdown game seems to be the most likely result, with the Nittany Lions closing out a tight win.

Prediction: Penn State 24 – Wisconsin 17

Big Ten bet of the week (2-4)

Washington vs. No. 13 Indiana (-5.5), 12:00 p.m. ET, BTN

Two weeks ago, we were back in the losing column as Ohio State again was unable to get it done. Congrats to the Ducks. But this week, we turn back to the machine that has been Indiana football this season. That is a sentence I thought I would never type out in my lifetime.

The Hoosiers welcome Washington to town and will be the center of the college football world as College GameDay makes its first-ever trip to Bloomington. Even with starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke out with an injury, Indiana gets it done and adds yet another statement victory to its undefeated season.

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