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00:00We welcome you back to college football today live right here on this Saturday on SportsGrid.
00:15It is week number 13 of this college football season.
00:19He is Joe Lisi.
00:20He is Kevin Walsh.
00:21I am Ben Stevens.
00:22So as we get you set for this Saturday, we head now to Camp Randall, Madison, Wisconsin
00:28in a Big Ten battle with the number one team in the country, Oregon on the road in Madison,
00:35a line that earlier in the week, Joe, was above two touchdowns, 14 and a hook in favor
00:41of Oregon.
00:42It is now under that number of 14 at 13 and a half, but still nearly two TDs in favor
00:49of the Ducks who have been dominant in Big Ten play as of late.
00:54How competitive will this game look tonight in Madison?
00:57I think it will be very competitive.
00:59Couple of factors.
01:00That big five circled for the wins for Wisconsin.
01:03One more, they'll become bowl eligible.
01:06Another factor, Luke Fickle has yet to win a marquee game in terms of his tenure in Madison.
01:12This is a make it or break it spot.
01:13I expect them to be up for this matchup.
01:16They didn't get it done against Penn State.
01:18This is another opportunity.
01:19They didn't get it done against Alabama.
01:21And what I find quite intriguing, they have an extra week of preparation as well, right?
01:25We talk about similar teams.
01:27Oregon lead 15, 15 and a half to Michigan on the road.
01:30They're laying 13 and a half in terms of this matchup.
01:33Night at Madison is a different factor.
01:36I get that.
01:37But, you know, I think Wisconsin's going to be up.
01:39I think they can limit big plays from Dylan Gabriel.
01:41They grinded out a victory over Maryland last week.
01:44He throws for a buck 83 in three touchdowns.
01:47We talked about, you know, the strength of Maryland's defense was in run support, limiting
01:53opposing offenses to less than three yards per Gary.
01:56Again, Oregon wins, but this is going to be a four-quarter game, I believe.
02:00Give me the points with Wisconsin.
02:01This is one of my better picks today.
02:03I'm confused.
02:04Luke Figgles is signing for the same year every year.
02:06Hear me out.
02:07Last year, they were 5-2.
02:08They lost three in a row, and then their last two games were against Nebraska and Minnesota.
02:12This year, 5-2.
02:13They've lost two in a row.
02:14Supposed to lose a third straight today, and then they're going to go to Nebraska and Minnesota.
02:17I don't know.
02:18So this is just written in the stars, and they're kind of already done on arrival.
02:21The interesting thing about this number is it suggests that Wisconsin could hang around,
02:26maybe put a scare into Oregon.
02:28Yet, when Wisconsin plays good teams, there's no evidence they can hang.
02:33Alabama ran them completely off the floor.
02:36We saw USC hanging on them in a major way.
02:39Penn State, actually, you know, the fourth best team in college football, was the closest
02:44game that they've played, because then Iowa drilled them.
02:47Sneaky, decent Hawkeye team, I actually think, because I'm just so unbiased, it hurts sometimes.
02:52I looked at Dylan Gabriel to have a bounce-back game through passing yards.
02:55263.5 is the number.
02:57Last week was his first game under 200 yards.
03:00Gabriel goes up against the Wisconsin team when they've played those, as I've mentioned,
03:04legit passing offenses, and I kindly kept Drew Aller in the mix.
03:08You're talking about 8.2 yards per pass attempt.
03:10That's Millereau, that's Moss, and that's Aller, which means you're going to need around
03:1432-33 attempts out of Gabriel, which is usually what you get from him during Big Ten competition
03:19here.
03:20That's what you can throw closer to 290, maybe even 300 yards on the road here against
03:25Wisconsin.
03:26I think the Ducks are in a good spot.
03:27I would be very surprised if this is an upset alert in the fourth quarter.
03:31So I've heard a couple of people look at this game and, like you, Joe, expect it to be competitive.
03:37I'm still wondering how or why you get to that assessment.
03:40Wisconsin, as an underdog, already five times this year, both 1-4 straight up and against
03:46the spread.
03:47The only win and cover for the Badgers was as a slight one-point underdog against a reeling
03:53Rutgers team in Piscataway.
03:55Meanwhile, Oregon has covered in a lot of Big Ten games, three of their last four after
04:01not covering in their first two.
04:04And I'm not entirely sure what Braden Locke and the Badgers are going to do, Joe, to this
04:09Ducks defense that has improved greatly over the last month and a half.
04:12Now, the ninth best scoring defense in the country, only allowing 16 points per game.
04:18Also in the top ten when it comes to total defense as well, around 294 yards.
04:24You think the number favors Wisconsin.
04:26You bring up a great point.
04:27Luke Fickle needs a marquee resume builder for his time, not just wins to end out the
04:32year against Nebraska or in the rivalry game against Minnesota.
04:36So Joe, if Wisconsin stays competitive, how?
04:38I think they run the football.
04:40Again, conservative type of attack.
04:43They're holding opposing offenses to only basically 160, 170 passing yards for a game.
04:4959% in terms of completion percentage.
04:52Again, limit chunk plays, right?
04:54They get beat this year on the ground as opposed to over the top.
04:57Alabama had a significant speed advantage on the perimeter.
05:00That was the game that Tyler Van Dyke went down.
05:03So again, this is a game where you pull out all the stops.
05:05Again, I don't know if they win this game, but in Madison with the crowd behind you,
05:10the extra week of prep, you throw the kitchen sink at Oregon and you see if you cover.
05:14I just, I can't help myself now think about how many times I've mentioned that about Florida
05:18State and they just sit in there with one win.
05:21Not the same situation.
05:22It could work out for Fickle.
05:23It could work out.
05:24Third time for the Badgers as at least a two-touchdown dog.
05:26They've lost both games by 17 points.