The No. 16 Wisconsin Badgers welcome the struggling Nebraska Cornhuskers to Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday night for another Big Ten West division showdown. Fresh off of its bye week, Wisconsin (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) will have to face a dual-threat quarterback in Adrian Martinez and a duo of solid receivers in Stanley Morgan, Jr. and J.D. Spielman. On the defensive side of the ball, Nebraska (0-4, 0-2) have struggled in nearly giving up 39 points per contest. There are some notable contributors that are questionable for the Badgers heading into nighttime affair. B5Q’s Jake Kocorowski and Owen Riese will both be at the game covering it from the press box. Follow us on Twitter for updates leading up to and after kickoff. When and where is the game? Wisconsin and Nebraska will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. How can I watch? The game will be broadcast on BTN with Kevin Kugler assigned to play-by-play duties, J Lehman as the analyst and Rick Pizzo reporting from the sideline. Matt Millen was supposed to be the analyst, but the Big Ten Network announced earlier this week that he will step away from the booth to concentrate on his health. B5Q sends its warmest thoughts to Millen and his family. How can I stream the game online? Via BTN2Go.com and the FOX Sports mobile app (iOS/Android). How can I listen to it on the radio? On the Badgers Sports Network, where you’ll find the usual team of Matt Lepay, Mike Lucas, Mark Tauscher and Patrick Herb. Head to BadgerSportsNetwork.com to find it. You can also listen on iHeartRadio (iOS/Android/desktop) by searching “WIBA.” On satellite radio, find it on Sirius 94/XM 195. Find us before the game! B5Q will be downtown a couple of hours before kickoff to take in the sights and sounds of Wisconsin tailgating. Ping us on Twitter (@B5Q, @JakeKocoB5Q, @RieseDraft) and we’ll pop over to say hi, talk Badgers, and get you on our Instagram! What to know before the game Wisconsin’s keys to victory against Nebraska Q&A: What to expect from the Nebraska Cornhuskers Getting to know the Nebraska Cornhuskers Zander Neuville out for rest of the season; updated Wisconsin injury report Bucky’s 5th Podcast, Ep. 37: Nebraska-Wisconsin preview; 1993 team memories The B1G Roast: Nebraska! Chris “Heinie Hops” Hein looks back at a special 1993 Wisconsin squad Aside from Nebraska game, Wisconsin faces big recruiting weekend Nebraska vs. Wisconsin betting preview The 1993 team will be honored at halftime of Saturday’s game. Check out former quarterback Darrell Bevell speaking with the media on Friday night about that program-defining team. Predictions Jake Kocorowski: Wisconsin 41, Nebraska 24 Jon Beidelschies: Wisconsin 35, Nebraska 10 Kevin O’Connell: Wisconsin 41, Nebraska 16 Tyler Hunt: Wisconsin 42, Nebraska 17 Drew Hamm: Wisconsin 48, Nebraska 24 Bob Wiedenhoeft: Wisconsin 24, Nebraska 23 Andrew Rosin: Wisconsin 35, Nebraska 17 Neal Olson: Wisconsin 40, Nebraska 21<doc-sep>The Wisconsin Football team returns to the field to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Keep your eye on these three Badgers throughout the game. The Wisconsin football team plays their second conference game of the season when they take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers at 6:30 pm CT at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday night. Wisconsin (3-1 overall, 1-0 conference) will attempt to keep the Cornhuskers (0-4 overall, 0-2 conference) winless on the 2018 season. Nebraska has a new head coach, Scott Frost, who was supposed to turn the program around quickly for the storied university. However, things aren’t off to a great start, as Nebraska has already lost to Colorado, Troy, Michigan and Purdue to begin the season. Meanwhile, the Badgers had a disappointing start to their year as well. After winning their first two non-conference games, Wisconsin fell at home to BYU. Even though the Badgers were able to rebound the following week with a victory at Iowa, they aren’t where they expected to be heading into this game. Wisconsin must win out to have any chance at the College Football Playoff. The Badgers are 17-point favorite and have a 94.8 percent chance to win according to ESPN’s matchup predictor. In order for that prediction to come true, these three players must step up for Wisconsin and play their best ball of the season.<doc-sep>First: Scott Frost Hasn’t Given Wisconsin Any Bulletin Board Material Thanks Coach! Michigan took exception to a comment made in 2016 by Scott Frost following a win in which Michigan blew out Central Florida 51-14: “It’s hard to say when the score is what it is, but we came in here and outhit those guys today,” Frost said. “Standing on the sideline, there was no doubt who was hitting harder. Our guys came in hungry and wanting to do that. It’s rare you can come into Michigan and rush for 300 yards on them. They had to run a fly sweep in the fourth quarter to get to 100. After handing Nebraska one of it’s worst losses in school history the Michigan players even mentioned the comment Frost made a couple years prior. As reported by Mlive.com’s Aaron McMann following the Michigan win: But two years later, before No. 19 Michigan whipped a Frost-led Nebraska team, 56-10, those who remained used it as motivation. Defensive coordinator Don Brown, too. ”It was stressed a lot,” linebacker Devin Bush, Jr. said. “Coach Brown came in the meeting and he re-stated what he said two years ago, about UCF. ”We really took it to heart. We wanted to make a statement, like when you say something, make sure it’s true.” Well I’m not entirely sure why you think with Frost going to a new team that a statement made two years prior would still be true. But ya know...whatever. Speaking of lame, Purdue took offense to Frost saying they were a “winnable” game. I’m sorry, but it was a winnable game. Every game is a winnable game. That comment from Frost probably was more about Michigan than Purdue. In case you weren’t sure if that comment was what Purdue needed as motivation here is Markell Jones making a fly-by comment to Frost. It's clear that Purdue used Frost's "winnable game" quote for motivation. Here, a player walks right by Frost making it clear his message was received. #Huskers pic.twitter.com/1oOKZoRXik — Dan Corey (@DanCorey1011) September 30, 2018 Purdue beat us by two touchdowns. But there must still be something about Scott Frost that makes Markell Jones nervous enough that he has to say it and run away. From what I know Frost hasn’t said anything about Wisconsin. But this article by Jason Kirk at SB Nation says that Frost has actually already provided bulletin board material for every team on our schedule. Second: Alex Hornibrook May Give Our Defense Opportunities There appears to be two Alex Hornibrooks. The good and the bad, depending on your point of view. Nebraska will be hoping for the bad Alex Hornibrook. They got him last year when Nebraska tied the game in the second half behind a pick-six by Aaron Williams. And we all know what happened next. Wisconsin took the ball out of the hands of Alex Hornibrook and they just rushed it down our throat and then as we laid on the ground asking for mercy they just said, “I don’t think you have had enough.” And then they continued to do it. Well, let us hope that we get the same “bad” Alex Hornibrook tomorrow. The Nebraska defense has not been forcing enough turnovers this season and the coaches and players know it. Maybe Hornibrook will give us a gift. Third: Roster Changes That Are Hopefully For The Better Since Frost was hired there has been a major roster overhaul. It continues to happen as Tyjon Lindsey was granted a release from his scholarship. The coaches said it was because of his lack of snaps in games. It is just a continuation of a trend that has been happening since the moment Frost took the job. There have been over fifty new players on the team that was not there in 2017, and then when you bring into account the players that have left for various reasons there continue to be changes. It is all a part of the process. Then Nebraska released a depth chart last Monday and we saw many notable changes. We assume these are changes for the better and hopefully the players begin to rally around the culture that Scott Frost is building. Maybe this is the week it begins to click. Fourth: Devine Ozigbo and The Running Game Against a much better defense, Devine Ozigbo ran for over a 100 yards against Wisconsin last year. That Wisconsin defense lost multiple players and come to the season as probably the weaker unit when compared to the offense. You know who didn’t like the run the ball? Mike Riley. Do you know who does like to run the ball? Scott Frost. I think we could another big game from Devine Ozigbo especially after putting up 170 yards on 17 carries last week against Purdue. If Nebraska is able to establish a rushing attack and stay on the field then they have a chance to beat the Badgers. Fifth: Adrian Martinez Growing Up in the Second Half Against Purdue In an attempt to define “obscenity” the United States Supreme Court, in an opinion written by Justice Potter Stewart, said the following: “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [“hardcore pornography”], and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.” Well watching the second half of the game against Purdue, I believe I saw Adrian Martinez grow up and maybe a light turned on. It is hard to verify that through statistics. You know, it is hard to quantify when somebody “grows up” and the “light turns on” but in this case I think I know it when I see it. Well hopefully I’m right. If a light turned on for Martinez then Wisconsin is going to have a tough time stopping this offense. And then we win. Right?<doc-sep>
Spread and total based on 8 a.m. odds. For the latest odds, visit The Action Network. While it’s only been a week, it feels like forever since the Wisconsin Badgers have played a football game. You may recall the Badgers went into Kinnick Stadium at night and dismantled the Iowa Hawkeyes. I hinted that laying the three points with Wisconsin was a lock to win, and I hope you took advantage of that and came out on top. It sets the pick record at 2–2 on the young season. Now off a bye, the Badgers will square off with a struggling Nebraska Cornhuskers team that has lost eight straight games dating back to last season. The Huskers are 0–4 to start the season, both straight-up and against the spread. Despite the early-season struggles, bettors still respect the Nebraska name and hammered the spread down from Nebraska +18 after opening at +23 at Westgate. The total opened at 55 but has moved consistently and currently sits at 60. The line movement has been very significant for such a disparity between the teams’ records. With such fluctuation in the market, it would be wise to shop around the different books to get the best numbers. There are a variety out there. Here are some notable trends for this week’s intriguing match-up: Wisconsin is 2–4 ATS in its last six games Wisconsin is 1–4 ATS in its last five games at Camp Randall Stadium Wisconsin is 7–6 ATS in October under Paul Chryst Wisconsin is 2–1 ATS off a bye under Chryst The total has gone over in five of the last seven match-ups between these teams Nebraska is 0–5 ATS in its last five games Nebraska is 18–8 ATS in its last 26 games as the road team Nebraska is 2–5 ATS when taking on Wisconsin So what does it all mean? Nebraska has struggled against Wisconsin since the Huskers joined the Big Ten. While the data points above are interesting, it’s hard to gauge any real trends on the Nebraska side as the change of scheme is drastic under new head coach Scott Frost. As a program rebuild has started up, the Huskers still appear a ways away from making anything out of the 2018 season. I think the most notable of the trends above is the 0–5 ATS mark for the Huskers of late, and an 0–4 start to the Frost era. It’s apparent that the Nebraska program was hampered by Mike Riley and is feeling the effects of that more than anyone expected in 2018. While I believe Frost is a good coach and better recruiter, it’s hard to find any reason to buy into the Huskers so far this season. Wisconsin, on the other hand, is coming off its best performance to date and a bye week to get refreshed and refocused. Both sides of the ball played soundly vs. Iowa, and a solid two weeks of practice should build on that entering into Saturday evening. The Pick: Wisconsin (-18) I thought the spread was dead-on when opening at 23, and some projection models say this should have opened closer to 25. Regardless, I have to lay the 18 with the Badgers. The Huskers have shown me nothing to have any confidence backing them in the betting market so far this season. The Nebraska defense has been abysmal, sitting 97th in total defense. The offense hasn’t helped either, as the Huskers rank 106th in turnovers lost to start the season. Meanwhile, the Badgers looked to find their stride against Iowa. While a bye week may cause a slow start back up, I have no plausible reason to bet against Wisconsin in this spot. I looked at every number, facet, and trend, and have found nothing to argue the other side based on 2018. Maybe Frost gets this thing turned around and gets a spark under this team, but until I see it, the Huskers are an untouchable team for me in the gambling realm. For that reason alone, I’ll lay the 18 with the Badgers. If it turns out to be an ATS loss, oh well. It won’t be because of any statistical or betting trends. As for the total, I like the over better than the under simply because of how poor Nebraska’s defense has played. The total has hit over on five of the seven match-0ups between these two teams and, again, I’ve yet to see Nebraska stop anyone.