The Wisconsin Badgers need a win to get this season on some sort of positive trajectory. The opportunity of taking out the Hawkeyes at home may be their best chance all season. The players know it, the coaches know it, and the pushup challenge proves it. Now, as it's gameday, what are the final odds, and what's a score prediction for the battle for the Heartland Trophy?
Final Odds for Wisconsin vs. Iowa: 3.5 Hawkeyes
The odds have basically sat at the same point all week, a 3.5 favorite for Iowa. The Badgers have been an underdog since Alabama and have yet to pull off the win. They have covered a few times, but are yet to flip to the script. There's hope that this can be the week.
Vegas predicts it will be a low-scoring game with the over/under at 36.5. That number did move up by a point, and it may be because Mark Gronowski is more than likely going to play. Billy Edwards Jr.'s availability, on the other hand, is not looking promising.
With these odds and this over/under, the final score predicted by Vegas is sitting at Iowa 20 and Wisconsin 17. That technically would be taking the over as that final score would be 37. If you want to take the under, you are looking for a final score around 20-16. Which is where I think it will land.
Final score prediction: Iowa 20 Wisconsin 15
It's hard to see the Badgers having a ton of success on offense. They've only had one game all season with more than 17 points scored. That was against Middle Tennessee, the rest of the season, and even Miami (OH) maxed out at 17. This offense is now one of the lowest-scoring teams in the nation.
If Iowa has Gronowski, that should boost them by about another field goal or touchdown margin to the Badgers. I wouldn't be shocked if the score lands around 20-15 and the Luke Fickell seat grows even hotter.