Wisconsin is taking on the No. 1 football team in the nation, the Ohio State Buckeyes. After getting shut out by the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday, 37-0. If that's what the Hawkeyes can do to this lowly Badger team, how bad will the Buckeyes beat Wisconsin? Right now, the betting odds are terrible for Wisconsin, but not as bad as they should be. FanDuel has the odds listed as 27.5 underdogs for the Badgers.
This is almost embarrassing, and yet it's not as bad as it should be after the pitiful performance against Iowa. Vegas is saying that the Buckeyes are essentially four touchdowns better than the Badgers, and that feels optimistic.
Wisconsin Badgers open as 27.5 underdogs against Ohio State
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To add to the embarrassing optimism, the over/under on the game is set at 41.5. Vegas thinks the score will be somewhere around 34-7 for Ohio State. Considering that the Badgers currently are averaging 6.7 points per game in Big Ten play, that touchdown feels like a stretch against one of the best defenses and best teams in the country.
This is a new low that Badger fans haven't felt in decades, and truly, it may be even lower than it's ever been. Coming off the worst home loss to Iowa in the 100-year history of the rivalry and heading into the hardest part of the schedule, it feels like rock bottom, but it's actually going to get worse.
Which is why fans are calling for Luke Fickell to be fired. If Penn State can fire James Franklin with a $50 million buyout, what's stopping the Badgers? Who knows, but the longer that Wisconsin waits, the more likely Chris McIntosh is to be the first to go.
The spread, odds, and over/under is painting a bleak picture for Wisconsin and yet it feels optimistic.