Wisconsin Faces the Dangerous Hilltoppers
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the Wisconsin Badgers will open their 2018 seasons on Friday night. Camp Randall Stadium will be the site of the action. ESPN will televise the game starting at 9 pm EST.
Oddsmakers opened the Badgers as -33-point favorites versus the Hilltoppers, while the game’s total opened at 51. The line is now Wisconsin 37 and the total is at 51.5. Fourth-ranked Wisconsin looks to live up to its lofty ranking on Friday. The Badgers went unbeaten in the regular season last year. That was en route to their third Big Ten West Division title in the last four years.
They fell to Ohio State in the conference championship game. The Badgers hope to build on their record-breaking 13-win season by earning a spot in the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.
Wisconsin Returns Some Experience in Key Positions
Wisconsin returns several key players on offense. Including Heisman Trophy candidateJonathan Taylor. He set an NCAA freshman rushing record with 1,977 yards. Quarterback Alex Hornibrook is back after throwing 25 touchdowns passes. The lefthander will be without two major weapons. Taylor racked up ten 100-yard games to go along with 13 touchdowns in his record-breaking freshman campaign. He is poised for another big year with all five starters returning on the offensive line. They include All-Americans Beau Benzschawel, Michael Deiter and David Edwards. Junior Quintez Cephus, who was the team’s top returning receiver, was suspended indefinitely. He was charged with two counts of sexual assault. Danny Davis will sit out the first two games for his role in the alleged incidents. Wisconsin has won 22 consecutive home openers. They can extend its non-conference winning streak at Camp Randall to 40 games with another victory.
Western Kentucky is Looking to Rebound
Western Kentucky is coming off its first losing season since 2010. They have hopes to earn the biggest win of Mike Sanford Jr.’s two-season tenure by knocking off a Big Ten opponent. It would be the first time in school history after losing its previous seven meetings. Senior quarterback Drew Eckels will replace Mike White. White threw for 4,177 yards and 26 touchdowns last season. Eckels hopes to prove the critics wrong after the Hilltoppers were picked to finish fifth in Conference USA’s East Division. Senior D’Andre Ferby is the favorite to start at running back after rushing for a team-high 373 yards in 2017. There are four other players vying for playing time in a crowded backfield. “I think that all five guys are going to play against Wisconsin,” Sanford told reporters. “We’ve had opportunities in scrimmages to see who ran the best and that was going to decide the starter but all five of them have done really good things.” PREDICTION: Wisconsin 41, Western Kentucky 13
Recent Form
| Name | Record | ATS | Offense | Defense | Diff | ATS Home | ATS Away | OU Record | OU Home | OU Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Kentucky | 6-7 | 3-10 | 23.25 | 26.85 | -3.6 | 2-4 | 1-6 | 7-6 | 4-2 | 3-4 |
| Wisconsin | 13-1 | 9-5 | 43.33 | 13.93 | 29.4 | 4-4 | 5-1 | 8-6 | 4-4 | 4-2 |
Power Stats
Yards Per Point
| Name | Offense | Defense | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
| WKU | 14.58 | 14.05 | 0.53 |
| WISCSN | 11.79 | 18.81 | -7.02 |
Yards Per Pass
| Name | Offense | Defense | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
| WKU | 10.37 | 11.85 | -1.48 |
| WISCSN | 14.14 | 11.93 | 2.21 |
Yards Per Rush
| Name | Offense | Defense | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
| WKU | 2.43 | 4.43 | -2 |
| WISCSN | 5.58 | 3.16 | 2.42 |
Team Records
WKU Hilltoppers
| Name | Record | Home | Away | ATS | ATS Home | ATS Away | Offense | Defense | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 6-7 | 4-2 | 2-5 | 3-10 | 2-4 | 1-6 | 25.46 | 26.85 | -1.39 |
| vs Conf | 4-3 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 3-4 | 2-1 | 1-3 | 29.14 | 30.00 | -0.86 |
| Last 3 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 0-2 | 25.00 | 35.33 | -10.33 |
Wisconsin Badgers
| Name | Record | Home | Away | ATS | ATS Home | ATS Away | Offense | Defense | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 13-1 | 7-1 | 6-0 | 9-5 | 4-4 | 5-1 | 33.79 | 13.93 | 19.86 |
| vs Conf | 9-1 | 5-1 | 4-0 | 6-4 | 3-3 | 3-1 | 30.90 | 14.10 | 16.80 |
| Last 3 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 2-0 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 2-0 | 28.67 | 17.00 | 11.67 |
Supergrid
| Title | Stat | Rank | Stat | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Away Team Overall Scoring vs Home Team Overall Defense | 25.46 | 89 | 13.93 | 3 |
| Away Team Road Passing vs Home Team Home Passing Defense | 312.00 | 12 | 161.00 | 12 |
| Away Team Road Rushing vs Home Team Home Rushing Defense | 32.14 | 128 | 93.25 | 8 |
| Home Team Overall Scoring vs Away Team Overall Defense | 33.79 | 28 | 26.85 | 66 |
| Home Team Home Passing vs Away Team Road Passing Defense | 198.50 | 93 | 192.57 | 22 |
| Home Team Home Rushing vs Away Team Road Rushing Defense | 212.38 | 30 | 172.43 | 63 |
Head To Head Summary
| Name | Record | ATS | OU | Score | Rush | YPR | PA | CP | PY | TY | TO +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Kentucky | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 6.00 | 115.00 | 2.17 | 4.00 | 25.00 | 28.00 | 143.00 | 1.00 |
| Wisconsin | 1-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 24.00 | 193.00 | 4.39 | 23.00 | 43.48 | 141.00 | 334.00 | 2.00 |
Head To Head Detail
| Date | Away | Home | Score | Line | Total | OU Result | ARY | APY | ATY | ATT | HRY | HPY | HTY | HTT | Away Team Attempts | Home Team Attempts | Away Team Completions | Home Team Completions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 29, 2001 | WKU | WISCSN | 6-24 | 115 | 28 | 143 | 1 | 193 | 141 | 334 | 2 |
College Football Betting Odds & Trends
| WKU Hilltoppers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Western Kentucky is 3-10 ATS in its last 13 games | ||
| W Kentucky is 14-7 SU in its last 21 games | ||
| Western Kentucky is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games | ||
| The total has gone OVER in 6 of Western Kentucky’s last 8 games | ||
| Western Kentucky is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games on the road | ||
| Western Kentucky is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road | ||
| Wisconsin Badgers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games | ||
| Wisconsin is 14-1 SU in its last 15 games | ||
| Wisc is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games at home | ||
Team Last 5 Games
WKU Hilltoppers
| Date | Opponent | score | Result | line | ATS Result | offensive rush yards | offensive passing yards | offensive total yards | defensive rush yards | defensive passing yards | defensive total yards | turnovers | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 16, 2017 | GA.ST | 17-27 | L | -6.5/54.5 | L/U | -2 | 351 | 349 | 143 | 276 | 419 | 2 | A |
| Nov 24, 2017 | FIU | 17-41 | L | -3/57 | L/O | 46 | 355 | 401 | 122 | 251 | 373 | 3 | A |
| Nv 17, 2017 | MIDTEN | 41-38 | W | 0/56 | W/O | 53 | 485 | 538 | 137 | 294 | 431 | 1 | H |
| Nov 11, 2017 | MARSHL | 23-30 | L | 10/52 | W/O | 34 | 334 | 368 | 144 | 190 | 334 | 1 | A |
| Nv 4, 2017 | VANDY | 17-31 | L | 12.5/53.5 | L/U | -6 | 355 | 349 | 174 | 220 | 394 | 0 | A |
Wisconsin Badgers
| Date | Opponent | score | Result | line | ATS Result | offensive rush yards | offensive passing yards | offensive total yards | defensive rush yards | defensive passing yards | defensive total yards | turnovers | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 30, 2017 | MI-FL | 34-24 | W | -6.5/45.5 | W/O | 142 | 258 | 400 | 174 | 203 | 377 | -2 | A |
| Dec 2, 2017 | OHIOST | 21-27 | L | 3.5/51 | L/U | 60 | 238 | 298 | 238 | 211 | 449 | -1 | H |
| Nov 25, 2017 | MINN | 31-0 | W | -18/43 | W/U | 287 | 169 | 456 | 93 | 40 | 133 | 1 | A |
| Nv 18, 2017 | MICH | 24-10 | W | -6.5/42 | W/U | 182 | 143 | 325 | 58 | 176 | 234 | 0 | H |
| Nov 11, 2017 | IOWA | 38-14 | W | -12/45.5 | W/O | 247 | 135 | 382 | 25 | 41 | 66 | 1 | H |
Next up: WKU home to Maine Saturday, September 8 Wisconsin home to New Mexico Saturday, September 8 Get a 50% Signup Bonus up to $1,000 at BetOnline Sportsbook!!!