Alabama is headed north to take on Wisconsin in a cross-conference battle on Saturday. Here is how to bet the game on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Alabama (-16) at. Wisconsin o/u 50.5
Alabama Team Breakdown
On the scoreboard, it appears Alabama handled South Florida last week, but the game tape tells a different story. That was a one-point game entering the fourth quarter before Alabama took control and South Florida made some mistakes trying to come back at the end of the game. However, there are some major warning signs around Alabama.
First, the Alabama secondary has a lot of issues. This is a young, inexperienced group and guys have been getting wide open against them the first two weeks. The problem has been that South Florida and Western Kentucky’s quarterbacks have not been able to make the throws to exploit those weaknesses in the secondary. It could still take time for this secondary to improve and they are going to start facing much more explosive offenses soon.
The other major problem at Alabama is the offensive line. Freshman All-American LT Kadyn Proctor got injured in warmups before the Week 1 game against Western Kentucky and has not played since. RT Elijah Pritchett was not meant to play against South Florida because of an injury he had sustained, but head coach Kalen DeBoer brought him in for the fourth quarter when it looked like the team might lose. Both tackles are expected to be a game-time decision, but it’s possible DeBoer wants to play it safe and rest them both for a nonconference game with a bye week ahead for the Crimson Tide.
If both tackles are out or playing at less than 100%, it will be tough for QB Jalen Milroe to have sustained success. Milroe threw for less than 200 yards last week against South Florida and appears to still be adjusting to DeBoer’s system. This offense needs to utilize the next two weeks following this game before it faces Georgia to start SEC play.
Wisconsin Team Breakdown
Wisconsin has won by 14 points apiece against South Dakota and Western Michigan so far this season. It has not looked overly impressive on offense with new quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, but the defense has been really solid. This was supposed to be a more exciting offense with OC Phil Longo and Van Dyke at quarterback, but the Badgers’ pace has been slow and they have lacked explosive plays. Wisconsin is 102nd in the nation in plays of 10+ yards with just 22 through two games despite playing inferior opponents.
Frankly, this Wisconsin team looks pretty similar to most Wisconsin football teams. It plays tough defense, picks up short chunk plays on offense and tries to grind out wins, whether it’s the favorite or the underdog. The only difference is this team is focusing on the short passing game more than the run-heavy approach of past Wisconsin teams.
Wisconsin vs. Alabama Pick and Prediction
Alabama has some major issues in its secondary but Wisconsin doesn’t have the passing offense to take advantage of it. Van Dyke has not been able to hit explosive plays this season, partially due to the fact that he has wide receivers that haven’t been able to create separation. Wisconsin should stick to a conservative game plan and try to have long, sustained drives to keep the clock rolling and keep the ball out of Milroe’s hands.
On offense, Alabama is far from perfect early on this season. Milroe is still trying to figure out DeBoer’s system and he is very reliant on his legs so far. Alabama is banged up on the offensive line and Milroe will likely be forced to use his legs again in this game to scramble around to try to make plays.
Both teams should have a run-heavy approach and Wisconsin specifically will want to run the clock down as much as possible. DeBoer will want to just get his team out of Wisconsin healthy before it heads into its conference schedule, so he is likely to come with a conservative approach as well, and if Alabama takes a lead, he should just take the air out of the ball. Neither offense will be able to hit explosive plays in this game and it should remain under the total.
Best Bet: Alabama-Wisconsin u50.5
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