The No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers are 13-0 straight up and 8-4-1 against the spread over their last 13 games. The Badgers will have a chance to prove their doubters wrong this Saturday night when they face the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, 2017 Big Ten Championship odds: Buckeyes favored over unbeaten Badgers
The Buckeyes are the choice of the oddsmakers for Saturday night as they take on the Badgers in a championship matchup with College Football Playoff implications.
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Wisconsin is a 6.5-point underdog in Indianapolis at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. In the last five games between these two teams, the Badgers are 0-5 SU and 1-4 ATS.
Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Wisconsin Badgers
When: Saturday, Dec. 2, 8 p.m. ET
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
Betting Line / Total: Ohio State -6.5 / 49 Points
Wisconsin Badgers
The Badgers finished up their regular season 12-0 SU and 8-4 ATS and improved to 4-0 ATS over their last four games with last Saturday’s 31-0 road win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Wisconsin looks the part of a legitimate playoff contender with a stud workhorse running back in Jonathan Taylor who has racked up 1,806 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns this season and a defense that ranks No. 1 in the nation in yards surrendered at only 237 per game. Naysayers point to Wisconsin’s weak schedule to this point, but that argument would be put to rest with a win over Ohio State.
This will be Wisconsin’s first game as a betting underdog this season. The Badgers are 5-0 ATS in their last five games as an underdog with three outright upsets over that stretch per the OddsShark College Football Database.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State was on early upset alert after falling down 14-0 at Michigan last Saturday, but the Buckeyes eventually pulled away with a 31-20 victory. J.T. Barrett was sidelined with a knee injury late in that game but is expected to play this week against the Badgers. The Buckeyes are just 1-4 ATS over their last five games since going 3-0 ATS in their previous three.
Saturday night’s total is set at 51.5 points. The OVER is 8-1 in Ohio State’s last nine games.
The Buckeyes haven’t lost a game to Wisconsin since 2010. The Badgers enter this game in much better form, but the Buckeyes may have the mental edge given the recent history between these two teams and Ohio State’s experience playing in big games.
The Big Ten title and a likely trip to the College Football Playoff hang in the balance for the winner of this one.
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