The 2017 college football betting season continues this week with some of the biggest sportsbook action that we’ve seen all year. The biggest teams in the country don’t have eye-catching matchups this weekend, with Alabama taking on Mercer and Ohio State facing off against Illinois. But even though every matchup of this upcoming weekend isn’t hitting it out of the park, there is at the very least one contest worth tuning in for; the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers hosting the No. 19 Michigan Wolverines. Let’s take a look at what kind of turnout the top sportsbook sites on the web are predicting for this upcoming weekend’s contest.
Betting Michigan
The Michigan Wolverines, the 19th best program in the nation, come into this Saturday’s contest sporting an 8-2 record that ranks them 2nd in the Big Ten – East. The Wolverines ranking in the division is all thanks to the stellar 6-2 record Michigan has posted in conference play in 2017. With the only losses of the year coming against Michigan State University and Penn State University, Michigan knows that as long as they’re not facing a State University they should have no problem winning. That of course is a tongue in cheek comment considering that good sportsbook betting lines are pegging the Badgers as the underdogs ahead of this Week 12 matchup. The Wolverines enter this Saturday’s matchup riding a 3 game winning streak after picking up consecutive wins over Rutgers 35-14, Minnesota 33-10, and Maryland 35-10. Will Michigan be able to continue their blowout streak against a formidable opponent this weekend? That, my friends, is the question.
Betting Wisconsin
The Badgers eagerly crawl into this game with an unblemished 10-0 record that naturally ranks them 1st in the Big Ten – West. Wisconsin has yet to concede a loss to anyone in the division this year, (obviously) as they’ve defeated all 7 of their conference opponents. Good sportsbooks around the web are predicting that the Badgers will extend that streak to 8 but as college football betting fans know, anything can happen come Saturday. The Badgers are coming off a 38-14 mauling over No. 20 Iowa that further solidified this team as one of the best in the nation. That said, if the season were to end today, the Badgers would’ve missed out on the postseason by the most narrow of measurements. As the No. 5 team in the country, Wisconsin is good enough to beat just about anybody in the country but isn’t quite good enough to make the playoff cut. Only four teams will get the prestigious nod and the Badgers aren’t one of those four at the moment.
Looking over both team’s statistics ahead of this weekend’s contest, it’s actually looking like this game will be competitive – something the below listed money line isn’t exactly predicting. The Badgers are the heavy betting favorites straight up, which means that most bookmakers are more than expecting Wisconsin to come out on top this Saturday (the line hasn’t been out long enough for bettors to have THAT drastic of a change on it). However, the 8 point predicting on the spread line lets bettors know this game will be close; Wisconsin scores 36.3 and allows 13.4 while Michigan scores 27.9 and allows 16.4.
Michigan Wolverines +8 ½ (-120) – +250
Wisconsin Badgers -8 ½ (EV) – -300
