Wisconsin Football: Way-too-early game-by-game predictions for 2018

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MADISON, WI – NOVEMBER 11: Bradrick Shaw #7 of the Wisconsin Badgers avoids a tackle by Joshua Jackson #15 of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the fourth quarter of a game at Camp Randall Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

The Iowa Hawkeyes are likely the biggest reason no Big Ten team made the College Football Playoff this past season as a 31-point home win over eventual conference champion Ohio State eliminated the possibility for the Buckeyes to make it.

There is no question that the Hawkeyes are a different, and much better, team at home as Iowa came off their 31-point home destruction of Ohio State to lost on the road to the Badgers the following week by 21, failing to secure over 100 yards of total offense. In fact, all of the Hawkeyes’ points that game came by way of defensive touchdowns.

For Wisconsin, their 2018 Big Ten West defense does not begin easy as a trip to Iowa City is a trip that highly ranked teams fear. Fortunately for the Badgers, they have won five out of the last six meetings against their rivals and four straight on the road in the series. Of course, those four straight wins have not come easy as the Badgers’ margin of victory in their last four trips to Iowa City has been just seven points, with a one- and two-point victory.

If history is bound to repeat itself, or at least the most popular outcomes, then this Big Ten opener for both teams is sure to be defensive minded like usual with a slow, grind-it-out feel. The game will come down to which quarterback can make a play and which defense can come up with a big stuff. It will not be easy, but recent history has to like the Badgers’ chances when it comes to those.

Final Score: Wisconsin 20, Iowa 14 (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten)

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