Wisconsin Badgers could be susceptible to a letdown on Saturday afternoon. Northwestern is the team who loves to end people’s excitement real quick. But it would be shocking to see the Badgers struggle in this game. They’re an overwhelming 24-point favorite. One of the things with Northwestern and the requirements to get in there, they have down years. It is natural. It might be a little unexpected to people who’ve seen Pat Fitzgerald pump out good teams after good teams, but this is not a good Wildcats team. Badgers should look to take advantage.

Three Storylines I Care About
Will Northwestern test Badgers safeties early in this game? – For those who don’t know, Wisconsin will be without three safties in the first half of this game. One is done for the year with a season-ending injury. The other two, Eric Burrell and Reggie Pearson, are missing the first half because of targeting. Northwestern is not a team to push the ball downfield, but if I were Pat Fitzgerald, I’m taking a shot down the field early in this game.

Badgers defense looking for a third shutout – This feels extreme, I get that, but Badgers could definitely shutout this football team. Northwestern is one of the worst offenses in all of college football. Part of the problem is Hunter Johnson is not living up to the hype at all. There’s a reason why he realized Clemson wasn’t the school for him. This is not the defense to fix their offensive problems. Also, it is worth noting that many of these guys gave up 30+ to Northwestern last season in a loss.

Jonathan Taylor is on another level – We’ve seen this all year from Jonathan Taylor. He’s been an absolute animal for the Wisconsin Badgers. Taylor does not seem to be phase any team. Now, Northwestern is typically a good defense. They still are this season. But what I noticed when I’ve watched them is they miss tackles. More than I’ve seen in the past, and that is not a thing you want to do versus Wisconsin.

Charlie’s Predicted Player of the Game
Jonathan Taylor – Until we see otherwise, this part of the preview might be boring. It is going to rest on Taylor’s shoulders and he should be up for it. Maybe we should call this section ‘Charlie’s Predicted Player of the Game Not Named Jonathan Taylor.’ We’ll find something new. I hate X-Factor, but that could definitely be it. If we’re looking for that, it is the Badgers secondary.

Prediction: This game will not be very close. I’m not expecting a letdown or anything close to that. I have Wisconsin winning this football game, 35-3 in a dominating performance.

Charlie.