Wisconsin vs. Washington State Prediction, Pick, Odds: Luke Fickell, Wisconsin Look to Take Down Cougs

Wisconsin vs. Washington State Prediction, Pick, Odds: Luke Fickell, Wisconsin Look to Take Down Cougs

We're getting an exciting interconference matchup in Week 2 between the No. 19 ranked Wisconsin Badgers vs. Washington State Cougars in Pullman, Washington on Saturday night. Last year, the Badgers fell victim in this matchup, suffering a 17-14 loss at home, but now, with new head coach Luke Fickell at the helm, they will travel west to face Washington State, who certainly has revenge on its mind.

Third-year head coach Jake Dickert went 3-3 in 2021 and 7-6 in 2022, showing steady improvement within his Air Raid scheme. In fact, both Wisconsin and Washington State are using Air Raid offensive schemes in 2023, which means we could see more points scored than we're accustomed to from a Badgers offense.

Oddsmakers at FanDuel Sportsbook have this game projected pretty tightly, with the Badgers currently sitting as -4.5-point road favorites against Washington State. They only managed a three-point win at home last season, which could be why the odds are only -102 on the Badgers' 4.5-point spread. Meanwhile, the point total is at 54.5, which feels high for a Wisconsin game. Remember, a new system and head coach with a winning pedigree, combined with transfer quarterback Tanner Mordecai, one of the most prolific quarterbacks from 2022, could create more frequent scoring chances than expected.

Let's dive into this matchup even further to find the best bet to place ahead of this Week 2 rematch.

Wisconsin vs. Washington State Start Time, Where To Watch, Odds

• Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
• Game Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• Where to Watch: ABC

Click here for latest Wisconsin vs. Washington State odds

Wisconsin vs. Washington State Injury Report

WISCONSIN

Day-to-Day: N/A

Out: N/A

WASHINGTON STATE

Questionable: DL Armon Parker (Undisclosed)

Out: N/A

Wisconsin vs. Washington State Prediction

We need to talk more about Mordecai. He finished 2022 at SMU with over 3,500 passing yards, 33 touchdowns, and a 65 percent completion rate. Even crazier is that these numbers were down from his 2021 campaign for the Mustangs. Now, Mordecai gets a perennially talented offensive line to protect him, with a pair of transfer wideouts, Will Pauling and Bryson Green, to provide more explosive perimeter weapons.

Washington State had a strong defense in 2022, holding opponents to an average of 22.9 points per game, which was 38th out of 131 FBS programs. Fickell takes over a Wisconsin defense that was even better than the Cougars in points allowed per game in 2022, surrendering 20.2 per game, ranking 17th. Washington State just allowed Colorado State to score 24 points in Week 1, who ranked 129th in points per game (13.2) under the same head coach in 2022.

Trends suggest that Wisconsin will win but Washington State will cover as +4.5-point home underdogs. The Cougars are 5-1 ATS in their last six home games, while Wisconsin is 5-2 SU in its last seven games. The point total line is spot on in my opinion, but there's value on Washington State to cover +4.5 at -120 odds. They lost by a field goal on the road last year and they just hung 50 points in Week 1. Wisconsin has less continuity than Washington State, which will keep this game within four points or less, favoring the Cougars as home underdogs on the spread.

At -120 odds, this is good value for the Cougars, so let's pounce on this number now before it moves to +3.5 or +2.5 later in the week.

Wisconsin vs. Washington State Pick

• Washington State +4.5 @ -120 (Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds)

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