Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Wisconsin Badgers: Betting Odds, College Football Pick

The Wisconsin Badgers will go for their fifth straight win Saturday when they host the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a key Big Ten matchup. Wisconsin and Nebraska are currently in a three-way tie atop the conference’s West Division with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, and both of them beat the Purdue Boilermakers in their last games as double-digit favorites.

Point spread: The Badgers opened as four-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (Line updates and matchup report).

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 32.2-31.9 Badgers

Why the Nebraska Cornhuskers can cover the spread

The Cornhuskers beat Purdue 35-14 two weeks ago as 21-point home favorites, the team’s third win in a row since losing 27-22 to the Michigan State Spartans as 8.5-point road underdogs. That is the only blemish for Nebraska this season, and it will be out to keep it that way with an outside shot of making the College Football Playoff if it can win the rest of its games.

Beating Wisconsin is first and foremost on Nebraska’s list of what needs to be done to improve the team’s chances, as a home game against Minnesota and a road meeting with Iowa still remain in the final two regular-season games before a potential Big Ten Championship Game matchup down the road.

Why the Wisconsin Badgers can cover the spread

The Badgers are 15-5 against the spread (ATS) in their last 20 home games against Big Ten opponents and have gone 3-0 vs. the line in the past three meetings between the teams. Two of those meetings were in Madison, where Wisconsin crushed the Cornhuskers by a combined 70 points.

The Badgers are coming off a 34-16 victory against the Boilermakers last week as 16.5-point road chalk, just beating the spread to improve to 3-0 ATS in their past three games. Wisconsin’s only loss in its last eight games came on the road against the Northwestern Wildcats 20-14 as a 7.5-point road favorite, and the team has won 11 of its past 12 at home overall, going 8-4 ATS.

Smart Pick

It looks easy to take the Badgers at home in this game, but Nebraska is the real deal and should be able to hang around and stay close to or within the number. The better bet though is to go over the total in what has been a high-scoring matchup, going 3-0 in the last three meetings with an average of 74.3 points per game.

The last meeting two years ago saw a whopping 101 points scored in a 70-31 Wisconsin victory, and the over is also 14-4-1 in the team’s past 19 home games vs. Big Ten foes.

Keep in mind, the Badgers were three-point home underdogs in that last meeting and saw three of their running backs rush for a combined 527 yards and eight touchdowns. That just proves how a powerful running game can push the game over. In this game, there are two.

Betting Trends

• Nebraska is 9-1 straight up in its last 10 games.
• The total has gone under in four of Wisconsin's last six games.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark; all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates, and get the free odds tracker app.