Wisconsin takes on its rival, Minnesota, in the battle for the Paul Bunyan Axe. It's a game that could feature some chaos and some snow. Wisconsin is most likely not playing any game beyond this one unless there aren't enough six-win teams and they are invited to a bowl game, which is unlikely, so this is it.
Luke Fickell is coaching them to play free and loose and to take the axe back, and the Badgers are riding all the momentum into this game. They have won two of their last three, and both were over ranked teams (the loss also was). Minnesota, on the other hand, is coming off a loss against Northwestern.
Final Odds for Wisconsin vs. Minnesota: 2.5 Wisconsin
Related: Major recruiting blow for Luke Fickell as Wisconsin loses best 2026 commit
The odds opened in Minnesota's favor by 3.5, but they have slowly moved toward Wisconsin throughout the week. It's now ending the week with Wisconsin as the 2.5 favorites. The over/under is 38.5, and the money line is -126 for Wisconsin and +108 for Minnesota.
If you take the spread of 2.5 and the over/under of 38.5, Vegas is predicting a final score somewhere around Wisconsin 21, Minnesota 18. The score could be more in Wisconsin's favor than that if the Badgers continue to trend the way they've been heading the last three weeks.
Final score prediction: Wisconsin 24 Minnesota 13
For this prediction to work out, Wisconsin will need some juice again from the run game, a little bit of an open playbook for Carter Smith. But also a continued dominant performance from the defense, specifically the defensive line. If the OLBs can continue to make noise in the backfield, the Badgers could hold Minnesota to only a couple of points.
However, there's chaos written into the game script tomorrow, whether either team wants it or not. It's a rivalry game in the snow.