The Wisconsin Badgers and Oklahoma State Cowboys face off on Tuesday in the college football Guaranteed Rate Bowl at Chase Field. This is the first meeting between the two teams in recent history.
Wisconsin comes into this game with a 6-6 record overall, and they have gone 5-7 against the spread. There have been a lot of changes since the end of the regular season, though, including a new coach for next season. Graham Mertz was the starting quarterback for Wisconsin this season, but he has now transferred off to Florida. Heading into this game, Chase Wolf and Myles Burkett are both sitting at number one on the depth chart, and it’s unclear what player is going to get the start in this game. The Badgers are averaging 26.5 points, while their defense is giving up 20.6 points per game.
On the other side of this matchup is Oklahoma State, who sits with a 7-5 record overall, and they have gone 6-6 against the spread. The Cowboys really struggled to close out the season, losing two games in a row. In the last game against West Virginia, the offense only managed 19 points, and they lost by five points. Quarterback Garret Rangel completed 18 of his 42 passes for 178 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Ollie Gordon finished with 17 carries for 136 yards and a touchdown. Oklahoma State is averaging 31.8 points, while their defense is giving up 29.3 points per game.
Oklahoma State is 6-0 against the spread in their last six bowl games. The under is 5-0 in Oklahoma State’s last five games. Oklahoma State is 1-4 against the spread in their last five games. Oklahoma State is 4-0-1 against the spread in their last 5 games after allowing less than 170 yards passing in their previous game.
I don’t trust the quarterback position of either of these teams, and this is still a very good Wisconsin defense. Look for both quarterbacks to really struggle to move the ball, and that will lead to both teams really struggling to score here. Back the under to cash here with ease. This is a very strong play.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
