Georgia Southern vs Wisconsin Odds: Badgers Eager For Week 3

The Wisconsin Badgers will look to get back on track against the Georgia Southern Eagles in Week 3 of the college football season.

This isn’t one of the massive NCAAF games this weekend. But this is a get-right spot for Wisconsin after losing last weekend against Washington State.

The Badgers fell 24-9 at halftime. Despite a third-quarter rally, Wisconsin couldn’t finish the job and lost 31-22 on the road.

The Badgers hired Luke Fickell to take over the program this season. Expectations were high. But at 1-1, plenty of doubters are out there now.

Can Wisconsin cover the spread against Georgia Southern in Week 3?

Here are the Georgia Southern vs Wisconsin odds for this early Saturday game on the Big Ten Network.

Georgia Southern Undefeated To Begin Season

The Georgia Southern Eagles have won against the spread in their first two games this season.

The Eagles were -33.5 against The Citadel and won 34-0 in Week 1. In Week 2, Georgia Southern earned a 49-35 win against UAB as seven-point favorites.

They’ll be 16.5-point underdogs against Wisconsin on Saturday, making them underdogs for the first time this season.

The Eagles are led by Davis Brin, the senior quarterback, who has added four touchdowns and two interceptions on 562 yards passing. Brin engaged in a shootout against UAB last weekend, throwing for over 300 yards while completing nearly 81% of passes.

Brin has completed 78.3% of passes in two games, which is sensational, especially since he’s thrown 83 times in two games.

The run game is led by Jalen White, another senior, who has added 5.5 yards per carry on 30 carries in two games. White has scored two rushing touchdowns and added a receiving touchdown last weekend.

Meanwhile, the run defense has allowed 145 yards per game this season. They’ve ultimately played better than that. However, the passing game has given up just 199.5 yards per game in the secondary. The secondary is not even close to being that good.

This game against Wisconsin is ultimately the hardest on the Georgia Southern college football schedule.

Wisconsin’s Lack Of Complimentary Football

Badgers fans are already panicking.

Washington State outmatched the Badgers and now fell to 1-1 on the season. However, it’s not the end all be all.

The Badgers are projected to win the Big Ten West division. If the Badgers win the division, they’d be in the Big Ten Championship game against the winner of the Big Ten East.

Wisconsin fans would be happy with a Big Ten Championship appearance in Fickell’s first season.

However, the team needs to play more complimentary football. They also need to be consistent.

The Badgers put themselves in a massive hole to begin the game. Although the Badgers returned in the third quarter, they ran out of gas in the fourth quarter and lost.

Wisconsin’s best prospect and NCAAF player, Braelon Allen, only had seven carries for 20 yards. He hauled in six catches for another 12. The Badgers need to find ways to get him more involved. He also needs to be more productive.

Allen’s in his junior season. In his freshman and sophomore seasons, he added over 1,240 yards and scored at least 11 touchdowns in each season.

But he only had 32 all-purpose yards and no touchdowns against Washington State. That needs to change.

Wisconsin has given Chez Mellusi, a senior running back, more carries than Allen, and he’s paid off. But those two need to complement each other. The coaching staff needs to call a better game and put all their talent in the best positions to succeed.

It just didn’t happen against Washington State. Because of that, Wisconsin is now 1-1 on the season.

Georgia Southern vs Wisconsin Odds

The Wisconsin Badgers are 16.5-point favorites, with the total at 63. The Badgers are also -950 on the moneyline. We wouldn’t recommend just throwing Wisconsin into some random moneyline parlay, but we are still confident Wisconsin will win this game.

While Georgia Southern has covered the spread over its first two games this season, the Badgers have lost against the NCAA football odds spread in their first two games.

The Badgers were 28.5-point favorites against Buffalo and won 38-17 in the first game. Against Washington State, Wisconsin was a 5.5-point favorite and lost outright.

The total has been above 50 for the Badgers in their first two games. For Georgia Southern, the total has been a bit higher. The Eagles scored over 80 points in their first two games, and 49 against UAB was very impressive.

Georgia Southern has a lot of seniority. They’ll make some mistakes, and the run block isn’t great. However, the offense should be able to put some points on the board.

For example, Buffalo added 17 points against Wisconsin earlier this season. Meanwhile, Georgia Southern lost to Buffalo last year, 23-21. Those two programs have been pretty similar over the last couple of seasons.

On the other hand, Wisconsin hasn’t been getting great quarterback play out of transfer Tanner Mordecai. He’s thrown for 467 yards but only has two touchdowns and two interceptions in two games.

The Badgers have earned under 10 yards per catch this season. That needs to change. I’d expect the coaching staff to make some adjustments. They’ll want to get Mordecai loose and have two running backs that should thrive against Georgia Southern in Mellusi and Allen.

The Badgers Get Right!

Although Georgia Southern’s defense has looked great against the run, things will be slightly different once the Eagles face a Big 10-caliber offense. The Wisconsin offensive line will be physical and effective in the run game and protect Mordecai, allowing him to make better decisions. It’ll also help develop plays down the field.

Wisconsin had multiple plays that went for over 40 yards against Washington State last week. But no running back ran for more than 17 yards per rush. That will change this week.

The loss to Washington State was a wake-up call. The Badgers didn’t force a turnover and gave up three turnovers. You can’t win like that. You need complimentary football.

With some re-evaluating, you can expect Wisconsin to be dynamite at home against a non-Power Five squad. After looking at these Georgia Southern vs Wisconsin odds, we’d back Wisconsin at -16.5. Remember that 17 is a critical number in football. Try and find that 16.5 number.

For NCAAF betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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