Wisconsin vs Utah State: Preview, prediction, TV channel and more
Friday night’s Wisconsin vs Utah State game will mark the first contest of the year for both teams. What can we expect?
Despite having played just two times against each other ever, the Wisconsin Badgers and Utah State Aggies are connected in more ways than you think.
Both teams have a win in the all-time series, with the Aggies notching the first ever meeting between the two back in 1968, a 20-0 victory in Madison. Their most recent matchup came back in 2012 during then-head coach Bret Bielema’s final season with the Badgers. Wisconsin escaped with a 16-14 victory thanks to a Utah State missed field goal in the final seconds.
Of course, Bielema left Wisconsin at the end of 2012 for Arkansas, opening up the job for Gary Andersen who was the Utah State coach during the 2012 meeting. Unfortunately, or actually fortunately, for the Badgers- Andersen’s tenure did not last long as he then left for Oregon State in a surprising move.
The Badgers are coming off another ten win season in a year they were not expected to compete for much at all. Having one of the hardest schedules in the country, the Badgers went through the likes of LSU, Ohio State, Nebraska, Michigan State, Michigan, Minnesota and Penn State with just three losses, landing themselves in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Utah State would probably like to forget last year after starting off 2-1, only to finish the year 3-9. The program has taken a turn in the wrong direction since its 11-win season in 2012. In 2013 and 2014, the team had nine and ten wins respectively, but the last two seasons have seen just nine total since the departure of star quarterback Chuckie Keeton.
Here’s how you can watch Friday’s Wisconsin vs Utah State game:
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Date: Friday, Sept. 1
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Location: Madison, Wisc.
Venue: Camp Randall Stadium
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Keys to Victory
The Badgers have had a rough start to the beginning of this season, having been banged up in practice. Wisconsin has already lost two linebackers in Jack Cichy and Zack Baun for the year and have a couple other notables dealing with some lingering injuries, such as wide receiver George Rushing. Fortunately for the Badgers, they are extremely deep on defense- even with some of the inexperienced players on the roster.
With that being said, Wisconsin’s offense will need to help out these new faces on defense by avoiding three-and-outs and limiting turnovers. There are a lot of new personnel on offense and with the first game of the season being at night on national TV, it is important they don’t let nerves get to them. Long, methodical, wear-them-out drives will be a big part of the Badgers’ success.
Utah State will need to try their best to take the ruckus Camp Randall crowd out of the equation. Big things are expected from the Badgers, but if the Aggies can score early and keep themselves in it at halftime, we could have an interesting conversation come the second half. Taking care of the ball and converting on must-have downs are the keys for Utah State if they want any chance of pulling this mammoth upset.
Next: Overreactions from Week 1
Prediction
Sophomore quarterback and running back Alex Hornibrook and Bradrick Shaw enter the new season as the Badgers’ main guy at quarterback and running back and there may be times in game one where you see their inexperience. Fortunately, they have an elite defense to back them up and mask any mistakes they make.
We could see a slow start to this one as the teams feel each other out and get comfortable, but only one team is going to remain slow for the rest of the game- and it isn’t Wisconsin. The defesnse shuts down the Aggies’ offense for almost the entire game, while the offense capitalizes on several Utah State miscues, bringing the Badgers to 1-0 on the young season.
Final score: Wisconsin 42, Utah State 10