Published Nov 14, 2020
BadgerBlitz.com Predictions and Weekly Roundup: Wisconsin vs. Michigan
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Jake Kocorowski  •  BadgerBlitz
Senior Writer
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@JakeKoco

The No. 13 Wisconsin Badgers finally resume their truncated 2020 season when they head to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines.

Check out below for a reminder of how to catch all the action for UW's second game of the year, along with all of BadgerBlitz.com's content throughout the week leading up to the Big Ten cross-divisional clash!

HOW TO WATCH

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Who: No. 13 Wisconsin Badgers vs. Michigan Wolverines

When: Saturday, Nov. 14, 6:30 p.m. CT

Where: Michigan Stadium; Ann Arbor, Mich.

TV: ABC; Chris Fowler on play-by-play, Kirk Herbstreit as the analyst, and Maria Taylor serving as the sideline reporter.

Where to stream the game: ESPN app or ESPN.com/watch

Radio: Badger Sports Network with Matt Lepay on play-by-play and Mike Lucas and Mark Tauscher as analysts; also nationally on Westwood One with Dan Miller on play-by-play and Jim Miller as the analyst.

Stream Radio: iHeartRadio.com (WIBA), Sirius 83, XM 83; TuneIn app and WestwoodOneSports.com

Current line: -6.5 Wisconsin (The Action Network)

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PUBLISHER, RECRUITING ANALYST JON MCNAMARA

The word "disinterested" has been tossed around by those who cover the Michigan football team this week. Sitting at 1-2 with some key players out on defense and constant speculation about the head coach, things aren't great in Ann Arbor.

But Wisconsin comes into this contest with multiple players expected to out - we just don't know who yet. If Graham Mertz is under center, I think the Badgers win comfortably. But if it's Danny Vanden Boom paired with a running attack that didn't look great in Week 1, I think this could be a close contest, especially if Michigan jumps out to an early lead.

I'll go Wisconsin 21, Michigan 13, but it's so tough to predict with UW's mystery roster this week.

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SENIOR WRITER BENJAMIN WORGULL

There will be a lot of conjecture leading into kickoff of who will and won’t be available for Wisconsin, especially at quarterback. It’s my thought that fourth-string quarterback Danny Vanden Boom will get the start, a daunting proposition for some teams but a luxury for Wisconsin considering the junior’s intelligence, steady demeanor and all-around talent (people forget he went 28-0 as a starting quarterback with a gaudy 48-to-5 touchdown-interception ratio at Kimberly High School). With tight end Jake Ferguson and receivers Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis around him (the first two definitely made the trip), Vanden Boom should be fine if Graham Mertz isn’t the pick.

Defensively, Michigan quarterback Joe Milton and his receivers should test Wisconsin. Milton is Michigan’s best offensive threat, having thrown for consecutive 300-yard passing games and a group of receivers averaging 15.0 catches for 182 yards per contest. Safeties Eric Burrell and Scott Nelson will have their hands full getting the secondary in the right spots to have a repeat of their scintillating performance against Illinois over three weeks ago.

We don’t know much about the true identity of either team, but what I know about Michigan is that they aren’t a scary team. And without 100,000 people staring down at UW’s younger players, this should be manageable.

As long as UW doesn’t have to sit out a massive load of key contributions, Wisconsin should win, 24-17.

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STAFF WRITER RAUL VAZQUEZ

This is a tough game to place any kind of expectations on. Michigan is 1-2 heading in with its lone win against a struggling Minnesota team, while Wisconsin is going to be playing its first game in three weeks and will be without a number of players.

If the Badgers were good to go and had their full squad, I think they would cruise through the Wolverines (and partially still think they will). But I have far less confidence in them doing so with the state of the roster.

With Michigan's shaky defense and secondary, I think a rusty Mertz (and offense) can still have success. UW will be hoping for a bounce-back performance from its rushing attack to ease the quarterback, whoever it may be, back into it.

At the end of the day though, the Badgers can still easily get past this edition of the Wolverines.

Wisconsin: 31 Michigan: 20

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SENIOR WRITER JAKE KOCOROWSKI

This really will be an interesting matchup. Wisconsin has not played since Oct. 23. Michigan is 1-2, struggling and giving up a ton of yards through the air in the last two weeks.

Earlier this week, Paul Chryst said on the Big Ten Network that he expects double-digit players to be out against Michigan. Will Mertz play on Saturday night? As offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph said on Wednesday, the redshirt freshman was “in protocol” and “the big question mark” revolved around whether he would get enough practice time to feel confident with him going into Ann Arbor.

In the BTN interview on Wednesday, Chryst also stated he was "hopeful" that a group of three or four players, including Mertz, would "be available" this weekend.

In a Q&A with The Wolverine earlier this week, I predicted a 27-24 game because of the unknown number of players that would not play for the Badgers, along with which positions exactly would be affected. Plus having Michigan backed up against the wall, I feel Jim Harbaugh’s squad could come out defiant and wanting to prove -- that despite being down particular playmakers themselves and being on the losing end of two winnable games -- this season would not crumble apart.

That said, seeing Austin’s 31-20 prediction from Friday's Q&A with BadgerBlitz.com in UW's favor, along with his thoughts about the program currently, admittedly rattled me a smidge with my initial, educated guess.

I’ll update this slightly to a Wisconsin 30, Michigan 24 contest. I think the score does not indicate that the Badgers hold a good-sized lead until the end when the Wolverines fight back to keep it within a one-score contest late.

I like UW’s defensive strengths in the secondary matching up against Harbaugh’s passing attack. I think whoever is at quarterback for Wisconsin leads the offense down the field -- primarily through the air with the lack of pass rush and secondary problems from coordinator Don Brown's unit. If Mertz suits up, despite being on over three weeks' rest, it could be an even bigger day.