The Western Michigan Broncos will take a step up in competition to open their 2024 campaign, heading over to Madison to face off against the Wisconsin Badgers in a rare Friday night opener. Camp-Randall Stadium will certainly be bouncing with excitement for the 2024 season and a chance at the Big Ten Championship.
Ahead of the sixth all-time matchup between these schools — and the first since the 2017 Cotton Bowl — we’ve got the latest college football betting odds, a pick, and a Wisconsin vs. Western Michigan prediction.
Wisconsin vs. Western Michigan Betting Preview
All Wisconsin vs. Western Michigan odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook and are correct as of Friday, Aug. 30, 2024.
- Spread
Wisconsin -24 (-110) - Moneyline
Wisconsin -4500, Western Michigan +1700 - Over/Under
56 points (-110) - Game time
9:00 p.m. ET - Location
Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisc. - Predicted Weather at Kick
74 degrees, 7-9 MPH winds, cloudy and humid - How to Watch
FS1
The Badgers enter the second season of Luke Fickell’s tenure after completing their 22nd consecutive winning campaign in 2023 — that is the longest active streak among teams in the Power Four conferences. They also ran their bowl appearance streak to an identical 22 straight years, which is the second-longest such run in Big Ten history behind only Michigan’s streak of 33 straight bowl game appearances from 1975 to 2007.
Wisconsin also has an active 17-game home win streak in season openers against non-conference opponents. They have not lost such a game since 1995, back when Fickell was a player at Ohio State.
Wisconsin struggled against the spread last season as a home favorite going 1-4-1 in those contests (4-2 outright).
MORE: CFN Betting Parlay Calculator
Western Michigan also has a coach entering his second season as Lance Taylor guided the Broncos to a 4-8 record in 2023. That is back-to-back losing campaigns in Kalamazoo after eight straight winning ones. The Broncos’ defense was 109th in the FBS by allowing 31.8 points per game, which forced them to outscore their opponents … and too often they could not.
It sounds impossible to say, but it is true: Western Michigan was 0-8 when scoring fewer than 35 points last season.
The Broncos covered the spread in all four contests in which they were favored but failed to cover the spread in five of their eight contests in which they were an underdog.
Prediction for Wisconsin vs. Western Michigan
Once upon a time, Wisconsin QB Tyler Van Dyke was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2021. That happened with Miami, but the remainder of his career with the Hurricanes was hampered by injury and subsequent poor play with Miami over the last two seasons.
He completed 64% of his passes for 7,469 yards to go along with a 54-23 touchdown-interception ratio while with the Hurricanes.
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The Broncos are returning their leading passer (Hayden Wolff), rusher (Jalen Buckley), and receiver (Kenneth Womack) from last season’s roster. Wolff was mostly erratic, mixing in good and bad performances from game to game and, at times, quarter to quarter and even drive to drive.
His second year in Kalamazoo should have smoother results after transferring in from Old Dominion.
It will take a little bit of adjustment time to usher in the Van Dyke era, but how great will it be for TVD to ease his way into the opener when he sees a defense across the field that allowed over six yards per play last season?
The Broncos might feel disrespected by the point spread, and they should, but the Badgers should have no issues at all winning this game outright. The unknown is how much the Broncos will score to keep it close. My guess is just enough.
Prediction: Wisconsin 37, Western Michigan 21
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