It's a big week for the Wisconsin Badgers football program. Luke Fickell and his coaching staff will have a chance to notch their first big win with the program and show why Wisconsin paid a lot of money to bring them in.
A win against No. 4 Alabama would be a big step towards becoming a contender for the College Football Playoff. But Goliathan opponent is going to be one of the most difficult games the Badgers will play all season.
According to ESPN Analytics, their matchup predictor gives the Badgers just an 8% chance to defeat Alabama at home.
I took to 'X' (Twitter) to take another poll this week, asking Wisconsin football fans to make their predictions for the big game this week. Not surprisingly, after the first two games most fans are not too confident in the Badgers' chances.
In a small sample size of 285 votes cast, over 65% of the voters thought the Badgers would lose by 14 or more points.
There's not a whole lot of optimism among Wisconsin football fans heading into this matchup.
The All Badgers staff remained perfect in predictions early this season with an 8-0 overall record. Here are the predictions for the Badgers' Week 3 tilt with Alabama.
Week 3 Staff Predictions: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
Jake Meier (2-0)
When I first saw this game on the schedule, I thought Wisconsin would have a solid chance of picking up a statement win and bringing new life into the Badgers fanbase. With what I've seen through the first two weeks, though, I'm more pessimistic than I'd like to be.
Wisconsin has struggled to stop the run effectively, and those struggles were apparent against a MAC program and an FCS program. Now, the No. 4 team in the nation is coming to town with a solid two-headed rushing attack and a quarterback who can be dangerous on the ground. Sadly, I think we're going to see more of the same from this run defense.
On a more positive note, Alabama is not invincible. USF hung around last week for three quarters before the Crimson Tide's 28-point onslaught in the fourth quarter to win 42-16. If UW doesn't start hot, though, this one could get out of hand quickly.
I hate to be so pessimistic going into this game, but Alabama is favored by two touchdowns for a reason. I see the Crimson Tide earning that two-score victory, but I will happily eat crow if Wisconsin can pull off some magic.
Wisconsin 20 - Alabama 38
Related: Luke Fickell Voices Strong Opinion on Targeting Following Jake Chaney's Ejection
Christian Borman (2 - 0)
Last week I said I was back on the bandwagon, ready to be hurt again.
And I was.
Yes, the Badgers still won. And yes, South Dakota is a quality FCS opponent. They are going to win a lot of games this year with that rushing attack. But when you are a Big Ten team with a roster that is considered to be much more talented, you need to win by more than 14 points at home.
I was very impressed with the first quarter. The offense was showing some explosiveness and the defense, while not perfect, was making stops when necessary. But the second and third quarter of the game was terrible, to put it bluntly. Their defense showed once again that stopping the run was going to be a problem.
Until the Badgers can put together a full game rather than just two quarters, it's going to be hard to believe they will have a lot of success this year, let alone against the No. 4 team in the country.
The good news for the Badgers is it looks like the Crimson Tide may be struggling with similar issues. The 42-16 score from their victory over USF is very deceiving. It was a one-point game heading to the fourth quarter and Alabama held just a 21-16 edge with 6:45 to go in the game.
The thing the Crimson Tide seems to have that the Badgers don't is that they can just turn it on and make some very big plays, putting up 21 straight points late to ice the game.
Wisconsin is going to need Alabama to play like they did the first 53 minutes of their game against USF and they will need to play a complete game if they want to win this matchup.
Trying to do that for the first time all season against a team like Alabama is a tall task.
Wisconsin 13 - Alabama 38
Week 2 Staff Predictions: Alabama 4-0
Cumulative Season Record: 8-0
Related: Wisconsin Football QB Commit Suffers Season-Ending Injury
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You can also follow Staff Writer Christian Borman at @ChristianBorman on X.
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