A Rose Bowl berth awaits the winner in the Big Ten conference championship game as the Nebraska Cornhuskers will meet the Wisconsin Badgers in an NCAA college football game on Saturday night. Kick off from a neutral field at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis Indiana is set for 8:17PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by FOX.
The college football odds opened up with the Nebraska Cornhuskers favored by -2 ½ points with an over under line of 48 points. Early money has shown on the side of the Cornhuskers as Nebraska is now favored by -3 points. The total has not moved off of 48 points.
Wisconsin and Nebraska faced off back on September 29th in Big Ten conference play as Nebraska earned the 30-27 home win as a -11 point betting favorite. The total landed over 53 points. CFB Trend: Wisconsin Badgers are 0-2 ATS in their past two games.
Nebraska has won six straight games. They improve to 10-2 on the year following a 13-7 road win at the Iowa Hawkeyes last week as a -14 ½ point betting favorite. The total came in at under 48 ½ points. The Cornhuskers in windy conditions gained 263 yards with 200 from their ground game for less than four yards per rush. Each team committed two turnovers. Taylor Martinez completed 8 of 14 throws for 63 yards. On the season the junior QB has 21 touchdowns and 8 picks. Nebraska on defense allowed the Iowa offense to put up 200 yards with 108 rushing for under 3 yards a carry. The Cornhuskers run the ball well averaging 252 yards on the ground good for 8th in college football. Nebraska has faced adversity with some close calls against Michigan St and Penn St to earn this spot in the title game. Their two losses came at UCLA and at Ohio St.
Wisconsin is not a worthy participant for a Rose Bowl berth losers of two straight and a 7-5 overall record. Ohio St and Penn St have better division records in the Big Ten conference than Wisconsin but with NCAA penalties are unable to play in a bowl game. They have lost three of their past four games. The Badgers come off the 24-21 road overtime loss last week to the Penn St Nittany Lions as a +1 point underdog. The total came in at over 44 ½ points The Badgers put up 349 yards of offense with 158 coming from their ground attack for less than four yards per attempt. Curt Phillips hit on 12 of 25 passes for 191 yards with two touchdowns and one pick. This is the third quarterback that the Badgers has gone with this year. The senior has four touchdowns and 1 picks on the year with just a 52% completing percentage. Wisconsin allowed the Penn St offense to produce 363 yards with 163 from their run game for 3 ½ yards per rush attempt. The Badgers has struggled on the offensive side of the ball as they gain 380 yards a game good for 85th in college football. They are a poor passing team. Their wins in Big Ten conference came against down programs and in step up games they lost each four in losses to Nebraska, Michigan St, Ohio St and Penn St.