Indiana Hoosiers at Wisconsin Badgers: Preview and Prediction

The Indiana Hoosiers face a tough test tomorrow in Madison, Wis. 

They're facing the No. 4 ranked Wisconsin Badgers, the same team that beat them 83-20 last season in Camp Randle.

Wisconsin is coming into this game after a week. Two weeks ago they trounced Nebraska 48-17.  The Hoosiers are coming in 1-5, after losing their first two conference games at home to Penn State and Illinois.

The Badgers will once again give the Indiana fits.  They have the best all around offense in not just the Big Ten, but arguably all of college football.

The Badgers are led by transfer quarterback Russell Wilson.  He's completing 74 percent of his passes this season with 1,391 yards, 13 touchdowns and only 1 interception. 

His favorite target is Nick Toon, who has 25 receptions this season for 447 yards and six touchdowns.  That's not his only threat though.  Jared Abbrederis has 20 receptions for 328 yards and two touchdowns.

The run game though, is Wisconsin's bread and butter.  They've always been built to pound the ball.  They have two key threats in Monte Ball and James White.

Ball has 93 carries for 511 yards and 13 touchdowns already this season.  His counterpart James White has 56 carries for 329 yards and three touchdowns himself.

The rushing attack is hard to slow down, since they bring all kinds of power. 

It's almost pick your poison with stopping the Badgers.  If you try and stop their run they will throw all over you.  If you bring extra defensive backs, the Badgers will run it down your throat.

Wisconsin averages 523 yards per game this season, which is ninth in the nation.  The rushing game averages just over 242 yards, which is good enough for ninth as well.  The passing game averages over 200 yards too.  They average 289 yards a game which ranks 31st in the nation.

Indiana on the other hand is a polar opposite.

Their offense averages 368 yards a game which is 82nd in the nation.  The passing game is the best with averaging 268 yards a game which is 44th in the nation, while the rushing attack gets just 118 yards per contest which is ranked 92nd.

Indiana also struggles to score points.  They only average 23 PPG which is ranked 91st.  The Badgers average almost 50 points a game. They rank third in the nation.

The defense for Wisconsin is stingy.  They will blitz and make you turn the ball over.  Indiana on the other hand struggles once again on the defensive side of the ball.

For all of those reasons, Indiana will enter the game as 40 point underdogs. 

I honestly think Wisconsin will cover the spread at that margin and make a big day.  They need all the attention they can get in preparation of running the tables and making them part of a National Championship game conversations.

Prediction:

Wisconsin 87 Indiana 13...no that's not a typo