Wisconsin vs. Washington State Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 2

The Pac 12 is fracturing and leaving Washington State behind, but the conference looked stronger than ever and went undefeated in Week 1. The Washington State Cougars were a big part of that with a 50-24 win over Colorado State. The Cougars are now 1-0 heading into their matchup with a Big 10 opponent, the Wisconsin Badgers, at home.

Wisconsin overhauled their coaching staff and team and Luke Fickell started the year off 1-0 with a 38-17 win over Buffalo. Now, Tanner Mordecai will have his first real test as the Badgers’ quarterback. 

Before we get into the odds for this one, check out this great promo from the FanDuel Sportsbook. Simply click the link below to sign up, deposit $5, place a bet on this matchup, then collect $200 in bonus bets, win or lose. Plus you’ll be set on Sundays with $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket, so the football watching never has to end. 

Now, we can take a look at the odds between Wisconsin and Washington State in Pullman, Washington. 

Wisconsin vs. Washington State Odds, Spread and Total

Washington State vs. Wisconsin Betting Trends

• Washington State is 1-0 ATS
• The OVER is 1-0 in Washington State’s games
• Wisconsin is 0-1 ATS
• The OVER is 1-0 in Wisconsin’s games

Wisconsin vs. Washington State How to Watch

• Date: Saturday, September 9
• Game Time: 7:30 PM EST
• Venue: Martin Stadium
• How to Watch (TV): ABC
• Wisconsin Record: 1-0
• Washington State Record: 1-0

Wisconsin vs. Washington State Key Players to Watch

Wisconsin

Tanner Mordecai QB: Last week, Mordecai was far from perfect in his Wisconsin debut with two interceptions against Buffalo. The Wisconsin offense was okay, but that had to do with the running game. For things to truly work in Phil Longo’s offense, Mordecai will need to be a lot better than he was in Week 1.  

Washington State

Cameron Ward QB: While Mordecai was struggling in his Wisconsin debut, Ward was looking very comfortable returning as the incumbent starting QB for Washington State and head coach Jake Dickert. Ward threw for 451 yards and three touchdowns after posting 3,231 yards and 23 touchdowns through the air last year.  

Wisconsin vs. Washington State Prediction and Pick

Last season, Washington State finished 47th in rushing yards allowed per game, giving up 142.3. Last week they only allowed 37 rushing yards to Colorado State and that will be what decided their Week 2 matchup against Wisconsin. 

Braelon Allen is one of the best running backs in the country and last week he took 17 carries for 141 yards and two touchdowns. That’s 8.3 yards per carry which wasn’t as good as his backup Chez Mellusi who finished with 157 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. As a team Wisconsin ran for 314 yards. So, while everyone expected Luke Fickell and Phil Longo to bring the “dairy raid” offense to Madison, they still knew how to ground and pound. 

Mordecai did throw the ball 31 times and completed 24 for 189 yards and one touchdown with two picks. They couldn’t really stretch the field which is something that Washington State seemed to master already. The Cougars threw for 466 yards in the game and their top receiver, Lincoln Victor, who was their No. 6 target a year ago, finished with 11 grabs for 168 yards. 

A year ago, Tanner Mordecai threw 10 picks playing most of his games in the AAC and in Week 1 even against MAC level competition his yard per attempt dropped from 8.0 last year at SMU to 6.1 and he was still turnover prone. I think this passing game will take some time, so I’m backing Ward and Washington State as home underdogs. 

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change