Tigers and Badgers Sharpen Their Claws. While the NFL is busy dealing with players not standing for the pledge of allegiance the college football betting season rolls on. Hawaii’s loss to California signaled the official start of the NCAA season meaning it’s time to throw some burgers on the grill and some predictions on the line. Included in week 2’s games is the matchup between the LSU Tigers and the Wisconsin Badgers.
The Badgers will be borrowing the historic Lambeau Field from the Green Bay Packers and will undoubtedly have a home field advantage at Wisconsin’s most enduring stadium. LSU is ranked No. 5 in the nation and there’s little doubt they won’t come out on top. Let’s check in on the sportsbook odds to see how evenly matched these teams are.
Saturday the 3rd of September
LSU -10 (-110) 44 ½ (-110) -380
Wisconsin +10 (-110) 44 ½ (-110) +315
Rightfully so, the Top 10 team is favored to win this matchup. The Tigers are coming off a 9-3 season with a 5-3 record within the SEC. They ended up tying for third in the Western Division which was enough to garner an invitation to the Texas Bowl where they emerged triumphant over Texas Tech 56-27. Ending the season with a bowl win is certainly something any school should feel proud of, but LSU should definitely set the bar high.
Especially when considering they have what many consider to be the best runningback in the nation with Leonard Fournette. Coaching wise the Tigers are essentially the same except for one minor change. Dave Aranda will be stepping in as first year defensive coordinator. He will be serving under Les Miles who will be entering his 12th season as head coach for LSU.
These two teams faced each other two years ago and the Louisiana Cats were barely able to scrape by a win. This time around the Tigers seem much more ferocious with 17 returning starters from last year’s squad. There’s no arguing that Fournette is the strength of this team but the quarterback isn’t too shabby either. Brandon Harris will be returning for the Tigers after throwing for 2,100 yards and 13 touchdowns. Luckily for Harris his two favorite targets will be returning this season as well; Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural caught for a combined 1,200 yards and 9 touchdowns last season.
Defensively LSU was dominant all season last year giving up only 24.3 points and 347 yards per game. Oh, and of course one of the front runners for the Heisman is returning. Fournette helped this team average 257 yards on the ground per game on his way to a 1,900 yard season. It’s no wonder LSU are considered by many to be college football betting favorites to win the title this year.
The Badgers are coming off a great season after posting 10 wins to only 3 losses and a 6-2 record in the Big Ten. On top of that Wisconsin can boast that they had the best defense in the nation allowing only 13.1 points per game. TJ Edwards, Vince Beigel, and Leo Musso will be returning on defense for the Badgers and it will be interesting to see how the best defense fares against the best runningback. Paul Chryst returns for another season as head coach and the college football betting community will be watching to see how he performs in his second season. The Badgers may have had the best defense but it’s unlikely they’ll be able to stop the onslaught that is the Tiger’s offense.