Indiana returns home for Senior Day on Saturday to face a program they seem to have replaced in the upper tier of the Big Ten.
The No. 2 Hoosiers (10-0, 7-0) will face Wisconsin (3-6, 1-5) Saturday afternoon at Noon ET inside Memorial Stadium in Bloomington (BTN).
With a loss on Saturday or at any other point over their last three games, Wisconsin will finish with a losing record for consecutive seasons for the first time since 1991-92.
Indiana trails the all-time series against the Badgers 20-41-2, but the Hoosiers have won the last two meetings after dropping 10 in a row before that.
Wisconsin should not be taken lightly. They have faced the second most difficult schedule in the nation, and they are coming off a win over a ranked Washington team. Five of the six teams Wisconsin has lost to are currently ranked — Alabama, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State and Oregon. Their lone unranked loss came early in the year vs. Maryland. According to ESPN’s FPI, Wisconsin has played the second most difficult schedule in the nation.
Badgers head coach Luke Fickell is clearly on the hot seat. He is just 16-19 overall at Wisconsin, and just 9-15 in the Big Ten in this his third full season leading that program.
The clear struggle for Wisconsin this year has been on the offensive side of the ball. In their last seven games (all of their games against Power 4 teams), the Badgers have scored 14 points or less each time.
Quarterback play has been a major issue all season after Maryland transfer Billy Edwards was lost to an injury early in the year.
Backup Danny O’Neil, an Indianapolis product, has completed 67.8% percent of his throws, but he’s thrown five interceptions and taken 14 sacks. And O’Neil was lost to injury on Saturday. Hunter Simmons has completed just 50.5 percent of his throws and he’s also thrown five picks. When O’Neil went down Saturday, Wisconsin opted to play true freshman Carter Smith, and he completed just 3 of 12 throws and was sacked twice.
The Badgers are No. 134 (out of 136) in scoring offense at just 12.6 points per contest. They’ve only scored 7.7 a game over their last seven. They are No. 51 on defense, giving up 22.2 per game.
PFF grades Wisconsin as having the No. 126 offense and No. 65 defense in the country.
So what’s the outlook for this Saturday in Bloomington? As has been the case for several weeks in a row, everything is pointing to the Hoosiers by a wide margin.
As of Monday morning, the gambling forecast is calling Indiana a roughly 30.5-point favorite vs. the Badgers.
ESPN’s FPI model gives IU an 97% chance to win. The Hoosiers are No. 2 in FPI while Wisconsin is No. 62. ESPN’s SP+ model projects a 41-6 IU win, and gives them a 98% probability to pull it out.
The early weather forecast for Saturday is calling for a partly cloudy day with a high temperature of 69 degrees and an 18% chance of rain. Obviously you’ll want to check back on that later in the week.
We will of course have much more on this game in the days to come.
TICKETS AND PARKING
As of Monday morning, Indiana has not yet announced the gameday details for Saturday. For the last noon home game the tailgating lots opened at 7 a.m. and the stadium gates opened at 10:30 — but you’ll want to double check that later in the week.
The game and parking passes are sold out. Consider using our StubHub affiliate links at no additional cost to you:
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