Badger of Honor
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Games to watch for Wisconsin football fans during the bye week

By Tanner Nestle

MADISON, WI - AUGUST 31: Garrett Groshek #37, Alex Hornibrook #12, and A.J. Taylor #4 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrate after scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Camp Randall Stadium on August 31, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - AUGUST 31: Garrett Groshek #37, Alex Hornibrook #12, and A.J. Taylor #4 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrate after scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Camp Randall Stadium on August 31, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – SEPTEMBER 22: Rondale Moore #4 of the Purdue Boilermakers runs downfield for a 70-yard touchdown after catching a pass in the second quarter of the game against the Boston College Eagles at Ross-Ade Stadium on September 22, 2018 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Purdue at Nebraska

3:30p ET

Big Ten Network

The first Big Ten matchup of the day that’s worth watching includes two programs hard on their luck so far but with a great chance to gain some steam moving forward. ESPN has both Purdue and Nebraska in their ‘Power 5 Bottom 10‘ rankings.

Purdue just beat a ranked Boston College team at home last week by a large margin for its first win of the season. Nebraska is currently winless. The Huskers desperately need a strong showing and a win in this game because it won’t be back at home with a solid chance to earn a W for another two weeks after when it hosts Minnesota.

Purdue is a top five team in the latest Big Ten Power Rankings. light. Must Read

Both of these teams were expected to have some of the better offenses in the Big Ten this year, and things could still come together for both programs, but they aren’t playing like the threats to the Badgers we thought they would be before the season.

Nebraska might be in for a longer rebuild than everybody thought. Purdue, on the other hand, might be finding its groove. Wisconsin doesn’t play the Boilermakers until late in the season. This can be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. Either Purdue will ebb and flow throughout the year, or it could continue to get better each and every week. If the latter is the case, the Badgers will get the best of Purdue in mid-November.

I think Purdue is the better team and the Boilermakers should win this game pretty comfortably. Jeff Brohm will take his team to Illinois next then host Ohio State, who the Boilermakers have actually played pretty well. When the time comes, that will be another game to watch.