In a rematch of last Fall's inaugural Big Ten championship game the Wisconsin Badgers take on the Michigan State Spartans at Camp Randall Saturday afternoon (3:30 pm ET, ABC/ESPN2).

Bucky Badger, 3-1 with three straight victories in conference play, was an early six-point favorite over Sparty, who's 1-3 in the Big Ten after losing late to rival Michigan.



View Michigan State vs Wisconsin Odds and Stats.

Betting Line: The home team opened as 5.5-point favorites in this NCAA football battle at Sportsbook. The over under line was 40.5 Friday at Sportsbook (home of nearly $1,000 in bonus specials).

Power Rankings / Prediction: The Badgers sit at No. 38 in the current NCAAF Power Rankings here at OddsShark, while the Spartans are at No. 12 on that chart. Math models have concluded that the Badgers will win this game 30-24.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Wisconsin's No. 66-ranked offense, averaging 27.5 PPG, against a Spartans defense that ranks No. 11 this week at 15.2 PPG. The Badgers aerial game is averaging 182 yards per game, more than the Spartans secondary allows through the air, 177.5 YPG per game.

In comparing defenses, the Spartans own the league's No. 10-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 90 yards per game when on the road. Wisconsin, on the other hand, rates No. 33 this week in generating rushing yards at home.

Michigan State was a 12-10 loser in its last match on the road against Michigan. They covered the 8.5-point spread as underdogs, while the total score of 22 sent UNDER bettors to the payout window. The Spartans suffered a Week 8 loss against Michigan in their last game, falling 12-10 at Michigan Stadium.

Wisconsin won its last outing, a 38-13 result against Minnesota on October 20. Wisconsin covered in that game as a 17.5-point favorite, while the 51 combined points took the game OVER the total. James White ran through the Minnesota defense for 175 yards in Wisconsin's last game, handing the Golden Gophers a 38-13 setback on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.


Michigan State Spartans Trends:
When playing in October are 6-4
When playing on turf are 6-4
After being outgained are 6-4
When playing within the conference are 5-5

Wisconsin Badgers Trends:
When playing in October are 8-2
When playing on turf are 8-2
After outgaining opponent are 6-4
When playing within the conference are 8-2

A few Spartans at Badgers trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Michigan State's last 5 games when playing on the road against Wisconsin
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Michigan State's last 10 games when playing Wisconsin
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Michigan State's last 6 games
Michigan State is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Wisconsin is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Wisconsin's last 5 games when playing at home against Michigan State
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Wisconsin's last 10 games when playing Michigan State
Wisconsin is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Michigan State


Next up:
Michigan State home to Nebraska, Saturday, November 3
Wisconsin at Indiana, Saturday, November 10