The Brain Trust: Previewing & Picking Wisconsin vs. Utah State

Camp Randall at night – is there anything better than that scene in college football? We surely don't think so. But, usually Camp Randall games at night mean it's conference season or a major out of conference opponent is coming in to town, not a team from the WAC. However, Utah State put the world of college football on notice big time last week taking down Utah for the first time in over a decade.

Wisconsin is coming off a loss we'd all rather forget, so we don't need to harp on it here. So, let's turn our attention to what is ahead for these two teams and how they matchup.

First, let's look at where these teams stack up statistically to see who's got a possible edge and why:

What do the numbers tell us about this game? Well, it tells us that Wisconsin's run game vs. Utah State's stout rushing defense could well be the key to the game. Wisconsin hasn't lived up to it's standard in the run game, (seriously, when was the last time we ranked dead last in the conference in rushing?) and the scheme that Utah State plays has allowed them success against a team that likes to be able to pound the ball (Utah). If the Badgers don't improve the run game and can't get over 200 yards as a team this game could well be very close.

The other thing the numbers tell us is that these teams don't give up a ton of points, so something has to give. Wisconsin and Utah State have played nearly identical schedules so far (an FCS foe and a Pac-12 team) so the points comparison isn't just a relative number at this point. Who's going to give up more points? With this game at home at Camp Randall you have to think the Badgers can at least score 14 points, right? (I know after last week that may not be a safe assumption, blah, blah, blah)

The other key will be efficiency on third downs. Wisconsin has sucked mightily in this category – something we highlighted yesterday and Utah State isn't much better going just 10-25 on the year so far. Again, something has to give, right? Otherwise we'll be looking at one of the most boring games we've seen in Camp Randall for some time and none of us want that. I look for the Badgers to convert at least 50% of their 3rd downs, especially if they can get into 3rd and short situations, which have really been the trouble spot for this team, especially with the coaching change happening this week.

Alright, all of these breakdowns are great, but what do we see happening in this one as a staff? Well, before we give you that let me remind you that our standings are as follows:

1. Andy Coppens (1-1) = 2 points (1 bonus for closest to the score)

2T. Arman Belding (1-1), Nate Woelfel (1-1), Cole Brown (1-1) = 1 point

So, with that out of the way it's time to reveal our official picks for this game:

Andy Coppens (Managing Editor): Wisconsin 33, Utah State 20

Arman Belding (Football Analyst): Wisconsin 24, Utah State 17

Nate Woelfel (Featured Reporter):  Wisconsin 35, Utah Stat 17

Cole Brown (Basketball Analyst): Wisconsin 20, Utah 13