Ryan Walters’ tenure as Purdue head football coach has not started as intended. Purdue is 5-11 with Walters at the helm, and they have struggled mightily on both sides of the ball. After starting this season 1-3 and having an offense that ranks outside the top 100, Walters decided to fire offensive coordinator Graham Harrell over the weekend and promote Jason Simmons to interim offensive coordinator.
Simmons was hired as an offensive analyst in March after a long tenure as Ben Davis High School’s football head coach.
This move marks a significant change ahead of a tough road to Madison, WI, to take on the Wisconsin Badgers (2-2, 0-1). The Boilermakers (1-3, 0-1) are 14-point underdogs in this game.
The Badgers are not without their own early-season issues. Against Alabama in the second game of the season, Wisconsin lost Tyler Van Dyke for the season after he tore his ACL early in the game.
Braedyn Locke took over for the injured Van Dyke and has had his struggles although he was able to lead Wisconsin to a halftime lead against USC. Unfortunately, the scoring stopped at the halftime whistle, and they lost the game 38-21.
Locke’s initiation woes aside, Luke Fickell and the Badgers should confidently enter this contest after beating Purdue 38-17 in West Lafayette last season.
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Game details & how to watch Purdue vs. Wisconsin Live Saturday
● Date: Saturday, October 5, 2024
● Time: 12:00 PM EST
● Site: Camp Randall Stadium
● City: Madison, WI
● TV/Streaming: BTN
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Game odds for Purdue vs. Wisconsin
● Moneyline: Purdue (+450), Wisconsin (-600)
● Spread: Wisconsin -14
● Total: 46.5
*odds courtesy of BetMGM
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NBC Sports Bet Best Bets for Purdue @ Wisconsin
Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas) is considering an OVER bet on either Chez Mellusi or Tawee Walker’s rushing props:
“The lines are not out yet, and with the changes to the coaching staff, I imagine the props will not be out until closer to Saturday morning. However, if you see a Walker line close to 30.5 or Mellusi closer to 45.5, you should consider betting the over.
Walker crushed his line last week against a much more talented front seven than the one they will play this week. Wisconsin was also in a negative game script for much of the second half, making them throw more than they probably would’ve liked.
However, you must fade the rushing defense from Purdue. They are 87th in defensive success rate against the rush and 129th in EPA/Rush on defense. They are also 133rd in rush yards allowed per game at 288.
With Wisconsin being a big favorite in this match, they could see a positive game script where they are in a run-heavy game flow.”
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From the Trading Desk at BetMGM courtesy of John Ewing:
Big Ten Championship Odds
Favorite: Ohio State +105
Wisconsin +15000
Purdue OTB
Odds To Make the College Football Playoff
Favorite: Alabama -1400
Ohio State -1000
Wisconsin +8000
Purdue OTB
Names to Know for Purdue vs. Wisconsin
○ Boilermakers: QB Hudson Card – The senior QB is having a tough season. He’s thrown for 627 yards, 7 TDs, and 4 INTs. His 38.6 QBR is 102nd in the country.
○ Badgers: QB Braedyn Locke - Locke is making his second start this season and his first at home. So far this season, in a game and a half, he’s thrown for 305 yards, 2 TDs, and has 1 INT.
Rotoworld has you covered with all the latest player news from the NFL and MLB. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Purdue vs. Wisconsin
- The OVER is 2-2 in Wisconsin games this season
- Purdue is 1-3 against the spread this season
- The lookahead line for this game was Wisconsin -10
- Wisconsin is 17-0 in their last 17 games against Purdue
- Purdue is 3-8 against the spread in their last 11 games
- The average total game score (51.8) in Wisconsin’s last 5 games is over the Total (47) for this game.
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