The Badger Herald Sports section’s weekly double feature is highlighting all of the weekend’s biggest games outside of Madison each Saturday.
For any fellow college football junkies out there, feel free to chime in via Twitter with questions, comments or requests to @BHeraldSports for the column going forward.
Football preview: Struggling Purdue’s problems augmented by No. 6/7 Wisconsin matchup
No. 7 Wisconsin (8-2) at Purdue (3-7)
Where: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
When: 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 19
TV: ABC (Channel 607 on Residence Hall Cable)
Line: Wisconsin (-28.0)
The University of Wisconsin comes into this week’s throw down with the Purdue University Boilermakers holding steady at No. 7 in the College Football Playoff Poll.
Despite last Saturday’s demolition of the University of Illinois and multiple losses from higher ranked squads, the Badgers failed to move up. However, this lack of respect nationally should give some on-field motivation to the Badgers who come in as four touchdown favorites.
Though Purdue is a wonderful place to learn about proper in-text citations, it is a terrible place to observe quality football games, as Wisconsin has won their last 10 games against the Boilermakers by an average of almost 23 points. Look for the Badgers to pad their schedule and build some clout with the selection committee with a massive victory this Saturday.
Geistlinger: Wisconsin 52, Purdue 7
Hayes: Wisconsin 30, Purdue 10
Football notes: Last Saturday served as reminder for Badgers to never overlook lesser opponents
Lock of the Week: No. 8 Penn State (8-2) at Rutgers (2-8)
Where: High Point Solutions Stadium, Piscataway, NJ
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19
TV: BTN (Channel 664 on Residence Hall Cable)
Line: Penn State (-27.5)
Penn State University received a huge boost to their Big Ten championship hopes last week after University of Michigan’s surprising loss. With a couple more wins and another Michigan loss, the Nittany Lions will improbably find themselves heading to Indianapolis with the chance for a Playoff berth. Luckily they match up this week with Rutgers University, a team whose incompetence on the gridiron is truly hard to comprehend or describe. Penn State has won 6 in a row, and with added motivation they have no time to toy around with the Scarlet Knights on Saturday. A four touchdown line will not be enough as the Lions will continue their unlikely march up the national rankings
Geistlinger: Penn State 48, Rutgers 14
Hayes: Penn State 42, Rutgers 7
No. 23 Florida (7-2) at No. 16 LSU (6-3)
Where: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA
When: Noon Saturday, Nov. 12
TV: WatchESPN / SEC Network (N/A on Residence Hall Cable)
Line: LSU (-14.0)
This delayed matchup between Louisiana State University and the University of Florida has been a long time coming. After the original 2016 chapter of the series was canceled due to Hurricane Matthew, it appeared as though it may not have even happened. If not for the two school’s massive SEC checkbooks, LSU and Florida would be playing non-conference games against Presbyterian College and the University of Alabama respectively this week. Now that each of those schools has been awarded a heft half-a-million dollars a piece, the stage is set for Saturday night in Baton Rouge. If this game were played back on Oct. 29 like it was originally set for, I would have favored the Gators. But two weeks later and the Tigers are rolling behind a reutilized Leonard Fournette rushing attack. Tiger Stadium is more commonly known as “Death Valley” for a reason; LSU takes it big.
Geistlinger: LSU 23, Florida 16
Hayes: LSU 31, Florida 10
Geistlinger’s Upset Alert:
No. 22 Washington State (8-2) vs. No. 10 Colorado (8-2)
Where: Folsom Field, Boulder, CO
When: 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19
TV: FOX (Channel 617 on Residence Hall Cable)
Line: Colorado (-6.5)
This Pac-12 battle will pit University of Colorado’s premier defense (17.9 points per game, 9th best nationally) vs. a Washington State University offense that has been barnstorming their opponents for 43.7 points and 385.5 passing yards per game (2nd and 10th best in the country). With both teams currently in first place in their divisions, we could see these two squads match up again in the Pac-12 championship a few weeks from now, with a Rose Bowl berth on the line. In this week’s game, however, I think Washington State is being undervalued. Though Colorado is 12 spots higher, both of these teams have built their rankings by beating up on inferior competition, and neither possesses a win over a Top 25 team. This game should be fairly even, but look for Washington State and its explosive offense to steal an upset win on the road.
Geistlinger: Washington State 27, Colorado 24
Hayes: Colorado 35, Washington State 31
Hayes’ Upset Alert: No. 11 Oklahoma State (8-2) at TCU (5-4)
Where: Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX
When: 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 19
TV: FS1(Channel 672 on Residence Hall Cable)
Line: TCU (-5.0)
Oklahoma State University has flown under the radar ever since being plastered across every sports network in the country for all of the wrong reasons in week two when a last-second Hail Mary pass by Central Michigan University turned into a crushing Okie State upset. This Saturday they head into Fort Worth to take on Texas Christian University as a quiet No. 11, just barely looking into the top 10 from the outside. Don’t let TCU’s four losses fool you, the Horned Frogs can turn it on. TCU also needs only one more win to be bowl eligible, and the Cowboys will give it to them.
Hayes: TCU 34, Oklahoma State 24
