Simulation Picks
Maximize Your Odds of Winning with SportsLine Model and Our Top-Rated Picks!
Maximize Your Odds of Winning with SportsLine Model and Our Top-Rated Picks!
Maximize Your Odds of Winning with SportsLine Model and Our Top-Rated Picks!
Understanding Public and Money
Read More
Expert Picks
The Tigers have one of their most talented and experienced teams under coach Les Miles, and they will be put to an immediate test by a Badgers club with a strong defense and a home-field advantage. Last year, Wisconsin quietly led the country in scoring defense (13.7 ppg) and was No. 4 nationally in run defense (95.4 ypg) in coach Paul Chryst?s first season, a 10-win campaign that seemed to go largely unnoticed in the shadow of breakout seasons by Iowa and Michigan. The Badgers return the core of their defensive front and middle, and their strength suggests they could bottle up Heisman front-runner Leonard Fournette and force LSU to beat them in the passing game. But I think quarterback Brandon Harris improved toward the end of last season and will be even better this year. Behind the big-play potential of Fournette and the play-action passing game, the Tigers have a decided edge in firepower. I expect them to break open a low-scoring grinder with a couple late scores and cover against an offensively-challenged Badgers club.
As noted in my pick on the side of this game, the Badgers return just four offensive starters and are breaking in a new QB. I expect them to struggle to score early in the season. LSU returns nine defensive starters and is a national championship-caliber squad. I'm projecting a score in the 27-6 range and playing Under this total.
Wisconsin allowed only 13.7 points per game last season, but seven of those defensive starters are gone. The Badgers' offense was troubled as well and they return only four starters and one of them isn't the QB. This team is going to struggle early on to score, which has me looking at them Under the total often in their first seven games. LSU, on the other hand, can win the national title. They return 18 starters, including all their key offensive personell. They've got the emotional push in playing to bring happiness to the Baton Rouge people in the midst of tragedy, and that stuff is big in college. I expect big things out of QB Brandon Harris, including winning against Alabama later in the year. This game is being played in Green Bay, but over 25,000 LSU fans will be on hand so let's just call it Lambeaux Field for the day. Look for LSU to control the game in all facets.
In one of the marquee matchups of Week 1,, Wisconsin is a live dog here playing in the school's home state at Green Bay's Lambeau Field. The Badgers simply need to hold LSU running back Leonard Fournette in check and should be able to control the clock too with a solid rushing attack of their own. The Tigers have not been known to pour on the points either, and my simulations have them covering just 33 percent of the time in a projected 23-20 victory.