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Wisconsin Football: Preview, prediction, live stream vs. Northwestern in Week 9

By Quinn Douglas

MADISON, WI - SEPTEMBER 30: Trae Williams #29 of the Northwestern Wildcats strips the ball from Jazz Peavy #11 of the Wisconsin Badgers during the first quarter of a game at Camp Randall Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - SEPTEMBER 30: Trae Williams #29 of the Northwestern Wildcats strips the ball from Jazz Peavy #11 of the Wisconsin Badgers during the first quarter of a game at Camp Randall Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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Wisconsin football looks to keep its Big Ten West title hopes alive against an up-and-down Northwestern team. Who comes out on top?

The second of two crucial match-ups in the Big Ten this weekend is Wisconsin-Northwestern. Wisconsin won last season’s match-up in Camp Randall in perhaps the toughest home game they played all year, a nine-point win that was increased thanks to a safety forced by D’Cota Dixon to seal the game. While not having beat Wisconsin much as of recent, Northwestern has proven to be a thorn in the side of the Badgers.

Wisconsin has had a rather up and down season. They’re upset loss to BYU pretty much ended their hopes of a playoff appearance and their loss to Michigan in Ann Arbor has put their Big Ten title hopes in jeopardy. Alex Hornibrook has struggled since their win against Iowa, only throwing five touchdowns to four interceptions and completing no more than 13 passes in the past three contests. Jonathan Taylor is still running strong, sitting at 1,109 yards rushing on the season.

Northwestern’s season has been an up and down season if you cranked the insanity knob about 10 times more. Following an opening-weekend win against Purdue, they lost three straight to Duke, Akron and Michigan. They have followed that up with a three-game winning streak with unimpressive wins against Big Ten cellar-dwellers Nebraska and Purdue but an upset win against Michigan State. Clayton Thorson hasn’t been as good as thought to be, but coming off a knee injury as devastating as his is no easy task.

Here’s where to catch this high-noon Big Ten showdown:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 27
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Evanston, Ill.
Venue: Ryan Field
TV: FOX
Live Stream: FoxSportsGo or FuboTV

Keys to Victory

The rushing attack for Wisconsin has carried them throughout the majority of the Big Ten season. However, if they want to keep their Big Ten title aspirations alive, Alex Hornibrook has to step up and play at a much higher level than he’s played at recently. It’s not only a key for this game, but a key for the rest of the season. The Badgers defense will also need to not be as leaky as they’ve been the last couple of weeks.

Northwestern will need Clayton Thorson to play his best game of the season, which may include having to throw three or four touchdowns to help Northwestern keep up. The Wildcats will also need to find someone to handle the load rushing, since the forced retirement of Jeremy Larkin, Northwestern has struggled running the football. However, Pat Fitzgerald is a good coach and will no doubt have his team ready to go.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of OddsShark

Line: Wisconsin -7
Over/Under: 51

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Prediction

Weird things happen to good teams at Ryan Field when the game kicks off at 11 a.m. (noon EST). It seems like good teams just come out and play sluggish against the Wildcats and they will jump all over Wisconsin if that’s the case. No question Northwestern would love to play spoiler once again, however, Wisconsin will just be a little too much for Pat Fitgerald’s crew to handle. The Badgers survive to live another day.

Prediction: Wisconsin 28, Northwestern 23

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