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It’s been a weird season for both the Wisconsin Badgers and Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Both teams had similar stretches where they lost games on the field and lost games due to COVID which has resulted in lulls throughout the season. In fact, Wake Forest has not won a football game since Halloween (they’ve only played two).
With odd seasons almost over, both teams will look to turn things around and build for 2021 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Which team will be able to cover the spread here? Lets take a look. There aren’t any notable trends to look at but here are the ATS results for both teams.
- Wisconsin is 2-4 ATS in 2020
- Wake Forest is 6-2 ATS in 2020
- Wisconsin is 3-2 ATS in bowl games under Paul Chryst
- Wake Forest is 2-2 ATS in bowl games under Dave Clawson
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ATS Pick: Wake Forest (+7)
The spread for this game has bounced around some between 6.5 and 7 points. The total opened at 53 but has since fallen to 51.5 points. Overall, this is a tough one to gauge but I think in the end it will be a close contest. Wake Forest has been a very strong team against the spread and Wisconsin, well, has not. I am not sure how much you can really tell with spread numbers in this spot with so many unknowns, but it is something to note.
Wisconsin hasn’t covered in four straight games and I think Wake Forest will come out and be able to keep it within this mark of seven. The Demon Deacons possess a strong run game, and a pass game that can be very explosive. This will be the best offense, statistically, that the Badger defense has faced this season. It’s fair to think that a good unit that runs a more spread attack will have some success.
Wisconsin’s schedule has been mostly pro systems and I think the spread look may give them a little bit of trouble since it is such a different look. There are unknowns with Wake given their layoff, but I expect a Dave Clawson coached team to come out sharp in this contest and keep it within the number.
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Over/under? Under 52, 1st half under 26
On paper I think a lot of people see this game as an over play given the strong Wake offense and the poor Wake defense. However, I think we could see the opposite here. Wisconsin should be able to run against this Wake front seven and I believe the Badgers will want to sustain long time consuming drives to keep Wake’s offense off the field. If a guy like Jalen Berger is back in the lineup it could really boast this Badgers running attack to try and melt the clock.
On the opposite side I think Wake will be able to keep it within the number, but I am not sure how many points will be scored. Wake has had some great offensive games but they’ve also had some games where they’ve fell into scoring droughts similar to Wisconsin. With them not playing a lot of football recently I think there is a chance for some rust and the under might be more feasible.
One thing I would consider is the first half under. Wisconsin will want to run the ball, Wake might struggle early which could be a more profitable spot. If both offense come alive late, an under might be in trouble. Overall, I like the first half under more so than the full game.