Luke Fickell will face his former school for the first time as Wisconsin’s head coach. ESPN’s forecaster doesn’t paint a statement win over Ohio State as a likely outcome.
ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives the Buckeyes an 88.2 percent win probability over the Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium this Saturday night. Ohio State is a 14.5-point favorite for the Big Ten bout.
The Buckeyes improved to 7-0 with a 20-12 win over the previously unbeaten Penn State Nittany Lions last weekend. They also have a hard-fought win at Notre Dame on their 2023 portfolio.
Wisconsin has started Fickell’s tenure reasonably well, going 5-2. The Badgers claimed their third Big Ten win of the season when defeating Illinois last Saturday.
𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘 8️⃣
🆚 No. 3 Ohio State
📅 Saturday, Oct. 28
⏰ 6:30 p.m. CT
📍 Camp Randall
📺 NBC
🎟 | SeatGeek | https://t.co/GpDDHzyTkHGame presented by Midea Midwest. pic.twitter.com/w6Uf1hNwGA
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) October 23, 2023
Yet the Badgers rank 84th in passing offense and are now without starting quarterback Tanner Mordecai, who underwent surgery on his broken throwing hand last week.
Braedyn Locke threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start, but the freshman will face a steep challenge when opposing a Buckeyes defense allowing just 159.6 passing yards per game.
Saturday will represent the biggest game of the season for Fickell, who played at Ohio State before returning as a defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He went 6-7 as the interim head coach in 2011.
Opposing his alma mater is a major storyline entering Saturday’s matchup, but Fickell tried to divert the attention to his players.
“It’s not about me,” Fickell told reporters Monday. “I know we have some guys on our staff — myself included — that have some obvious history there, whether they went to school there or played there. But that’s not what it’s about.”
NBC will televise the Big Ten matchup this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.