CFB Best Bets, Picks and Analysis For Washington State vs. Wisconsin on September 10, 2022

The Wisconsin Badgers defense looked impenetrable in its Week 1 shutout win over Illinois State, but Paul Chryst's team faces a much tougher challenge with the Washington State Cougar rolling into Camp Randall in Madison, Wisconsin at 3:30PM ET on Saturday September 10, 2022.

Will the Badgers be up to the task? You'll just have to keep reading our Washington State vs. Wisconsin betting preview to find out. 

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For the most up to date CFB computer picks, check out our interactive predictions for Washington State vs. Wisconsin. It's constantly updating based on hundreds of different data points.

Washington State vs. Wisconsin Best Bets, Predictions and Analysis

Spread Breakdown

It doesn't feel like Wisconsin is in any real danger of losing this game, as the Badgers are 17-3 straight-up as favorites of 10.5 to 21 points under Chryst and are also 6-0 SU as home favorites of 14.5 to 21 points in that span. Wisconsin's defense also lost a lot of players from last year's team, but the unit was clearly buzzing in a shutout win over Illinois State last week.

The Badgers have consistently been elite defensively under defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, and there's no reason to believe this year will be any different — especially with the team having legitimate NFL prospects on that side of the ball this season. 

Wisconsin does, however, have some questions to answer on the offensive side of the ball. Everybody in the world knows that the Badgers can run the football, as the team has a great offensive line and Braelon Allen looks like the next special NFL running back to come from Wisconsin.

But the Badgers are going to need Graham Mertz to take a jump in order to get the passing game going, and it was hard to see whether or not he has improved in the Illinois State game. We'll learn a lot against Washington State, especially with the Cougars now being led by a defensive-minded head coach.

MORE: CFB Futures Probabilities

We expect Wisconsin to comfortably win this football game, but 17 points is a lot to give for a team that isn't going to be attacking the opposing defense with a healthy diet of deep passes.

The Badgers are going to move the chains and pick up first downs at will with their ability to run the football, but are they going to score at least 35 points here? That's probably what it would take for them to cover this hefty spread, and we just want to see more out of Mertz before we're backing Wisconsin to cover huge lines against Power 5 schools. 

The Badgers are actually 0-3 against the spread when playing as home favorites of 14.5 to 17 points under Chryst, and the team is also 8-15 ATS when coming off a cover as a double-digit favorite. 

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Over/Under Breakdown

This game has a really low total and that's because of the way the Badgers like to play. They're going to pound the rock on offense and they are going to do everything they can to not get beat over the top on defense. With that in mind, we still believe this one will go Under the low number of 46.5. 

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Under Chryst, the Under is 6-2 when Wisconsin is coming off of a game in which it earned a shutout over its opponent, which just shows you that this Badgers defense can really get rolling.

We think both of these teams will have their fair share of issues scoring the ball, which is part of the reason it's so surprising seeing such a big spread on this game.

Regardless, we're not overthinking this total. Both of these teams want this game to be somewhat lower in scoring, so why not bet on what the coaches will be going for? 

Best Bet: Cougars vs. Badgers

This is a pretty tough game to call because Wisconsin didn't play an FBS opponent last week, but backing Washington State +17 feels like the safest play you can make. It's hard to envision the Badgers offense getting hot enough to completely put this baby to bed, so you should feel like you have a chance on the Cougars until the very end. 

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