Ohio State vs. Wisconsin Picks and Prediction, Saturday, October 18th, 2025
Use Code WWWC In this Ohio State at Wisconsin prediction, the top-ranked Buckeyes travel to Wisconsin to take on the Badgers in a classic Big Ten showdown. The Buckeyes are a perfect 6-0 as they try to repeat as national champions this year. The Badgers have struggled, losing four straight games to fall to 2-4 on the season. The opening kick is scheduled for 3:30 pm EST. Don’t get sacked this football season! Try our College Football Picks!
Ohio State streaking on the road
The #1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes stayed perfect last week with a 34-16 road win over 17th-ranked Illinois on Saturday. The dominant Ohio State defense forced three turnovers and cruised to victory. The Buckeyes are now 6-0 on the season as they get set to head to Wisconsin to take on the Badgers.
“When you have a team that understand what needs to get done, that’s when you have a chance to be special.” Head coach Ryan Day said after the win.
Quarterback Julian Sayin led the offense, completing 19-of-27 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith had five catches for 42 yards and a score. The Buckeyes split the carries in the backfield with Bo Jackson finishing with 47 yards on 10 carries and CJ Donaldson Jr. had 44 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns. Ohio State finished with 272 yards of total offense, averaging 4.2 yards per play. They were 8-of-15 on third down conversions and 1-of-1 on fourth down.
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The Buckeyes' top-ranked defense lived up to its billing against the Fighting Illini. They forced three turnovers in the game. They held Illinois to just 47 yards rushing at 1.7 yards per carry. Ohio State had six tackles for loss in the game, including four sacks. Ohio State held the Illini to just 4-of-14 on third down conversions. Sonny Styles led the Buckeyes with 10 tackles in the contest. Payton Pierce added an interception in the game.
Ohio State is ranked 43rd in the nation in scoring. The Buckeyes are 62nd in rushing and 58th in passing. The team is 37th in red zone offense and has done an excellent job protecting the quarterback, ranked second in the country in sacks allowed. Defensively, the Buckeyes are ranked first in scoring defense. The team is 9th against the run and 8th against the pass. The Buckeyes are sixth in red zone defense. They are 12th in sacks per game. The team is 52nd in turnover margin and 37th in penalty yards per game.
Key Injuries: TE Max LeBlanc, QB Mason Maggs, WR Bryson Rodgers, RB Anthony Rogers, and WR Preston Wolfe are questionable.
Badgers fading
After a 2-0 start to the season, the Wisconsin Badgers have now lost four straight games, including their first three Big Ten conference games. They were trounced at home on Saturday, losing 37-0 to the visiting Iowa Hawkeyes. The Badgers gave up 17 points in the first quarter as the Hawkeyes pulled away early.
“That’s as low as it can be,” Head coach Luke Fickell said. “And I apologize. I apologize to our guys to not be ready, to not have them ready. I’m dumbfounded in a lot of ways, but that’s my job. And this is a game we have been talking about since January and have been doing a lot of things to make sure we were ready and prepared. And obviously, we were not.
Very few things went right for the Badgers on either side of the ball on Saturday night. The Badgers finished with just 208 yards of total offense. The team finished with just 82 yards passing. Running back Dillin Jones was the lone bright spot offensively, gaining 69 yards on the ground. Quarterback Hunter Simmons finished just 8-of-21 for 82 yards and threw two interceptions.
Defensively, the Badgers allowed 319 yards, including over 200 yards on the ground. Christian Alliegro led the defense with 10 tackles. Matthew Jung was second on the team with eight tackles. Ricardo Hallman had the Badgers' lone interception in the game. The Badgers finished the game with five tackles for loss.
Wisconsin is ranked 122nd in the nation in points per game. The Badgers are 118th in rushing and 109th in passing. The team is 76th in red zone offense and 93rd in sacks allowed. On the defensive side of the ball, the Badgers are 44th in scoring defense. They are 34th against the run and 58th against the pass. Wisconsin is 36th in red zone defense in the nation. They are 71st in sacks per game. The team is 116th in turnover margin and 10th in fewest penalty yards per game.
Key Injuries: TE Tucker Ashcraft, RB Darrin Dupree, WR Joseph Griffin Jr., WR Trech Kekahon, and QB Danny O’Neill are questionable.
Ohio State vs. Wisconsin PickÂ
Point Spread pick for Ohio State at WisconsinÂ
- Wisconsin +26.5 (4 units)
Wisconsin head coach Fickell could be fighting for his job in this matchup. He didn’t get his team to respond on Saturday night, trounced by an Iowa team that crushed them last season. The Badgers are certainly overmatched in this game against the #1 team in the country. Their lone advantage is limiting penalties. They have struggled to run the ball and pass the ball, but they also defend the run and pass well. Fickell’s best chance to keep this game competitive will be to slow the game down and limit Ohio State’s offensive snaps. The Badgers will have the advantage of familiarity in this conference matchup. Ohio State has earned the #1 ranking in the country, but a near four-touchdown spread is a lot in a conference matchup on the road. Coming off an embarrassing home loss, the Badgers will show some fight.
Take Wisconsin +26.5
Over/Under Pick for Ohio State at WisconsinÂ
- Over 44.5 (4 units)
As noted above, the Badgers will try to slow this game down to keep it close. Still, it will be hard for them to completely shut down the Buckeyes’ potent offense. The Badgers do tend to turn the ball over, ranked just 116th in the country in turnover margin. That will be an issue, given the Buckeyes’ offense short fields. After being shut out last week, the Badgers will rebound with some points here, certainly enough to push this game past this rather low total.
Take the over.
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