Wisconsin came off an Alabama loss in which it may have been better for the Badgers not to have even gotten off the plane. Now they head into their first Big Ten game with hopefully fire in their bellies instead of defeat in their hearts. They need to have a statement game against Maryland on Saturday. The ESPN prediction tool seems to think it won't even be close.
As of the writing of this post, ESPN has Wisconsin predicted to win the game at nearly a 70% clip. It sits at exactly 69.1% chances of them winning. To put that in perspective, Alabama was billed at an 88% chance to win. So while ESPN doesn't think Wisconsin will have as easy a time as Alabama did against the Badgers, it's still a pretty high percentage.
Maybe one more perspective will help. Miami has a 75% chance to beat a floundering Florida on Saturday. So, we have to ask, is ESPN a bit too confident in a Badger team that got whooped by Alabama?
ESPN Analytics loves Wisconsin to beat Maryland this weekend
Related: Mike Locksley states Billy Edwards Jr. familiarity only helps Maryland out in one way
A few things are working in Wisconsin's favor. The first is that Maryland really hasn't played anybody this year: FAU, Northern Illinois, and Towson are not impressive, and the worst of the bunch, Towson, put up 17 points on them.
The second thing is that Wisconsin is playing at home, and that will matter. It's often considered about a 7-point swing in terms of odds. The odds currently favor the Badgers by 10.5.
Lastly, Wisconsin just looks like a better product on paper and with the eye test. Sure, you never know in college football, and we will see how Wisconsin responds after the Alabama loss. But there's a reason Billy Edwards Jr. left Maryland and decided to use his final season at Wisconsin. Wisconsin, and this will baffle some Badger fans, is in a better place than Maryland.
Should it be 70% likelihood of victory? Maybe not, but ESPN believes in the Badgers in this game.