Nebraska football opens as near two-touchdown dog to Wisconsin

To the surprise of no one, the Nebraska football team is opening this week as a heavy underdog to Wisconsin. While that might not be a shock by any means, the degree to which they are the dogs for a home game is another reason to give people a bit of pause.

According to FanDuel, the Huskers have opened up the week as 12.5-point underdogs to the Badgers. The game is being played in Memorial Stadium. On Senior Day. If it were being played in Madison, it’s safe to assume Wiscy might be looking at a 20+ line.

This game is also going to be the matchup of the interim head coaches who are hoping to get the interim tag removed. It’s also safe to say it’s the battle of teams whose seasons have not really gone anywhere close to where they had hoped.

The Badgers fired former head coach Paul Chryst just a few weeks after the Nebraska football team fired Scott Frost. In his place, Wisconsin named defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard the interim man and he is expected to most likely get the chance to be the permanent choice once the season is out.

Leonhard had even been on most people’s list for the Huskers’ head coaching job thanks to his familiarity with the Big Ten and his reputation as one of the best DC’s in college football. However, these days it seems like Leonhard is going to be helming the Badgers or nobody.

Nebraska football could play spoiler

After the coaching change was made for Bucky, it looked like things had been turned around thanks to a 35-24 win over Purdue and a 23-10 victory over Maryland. However, a 24-10 loss to Iowa this past weekend put Wisconsin’s Big Ten West hopes into the grave and their bowl hopes on life support.

Leonhard’s squad needs one more win to be bowl eligible and as at least a12.5-point favorite  over the Nebraska football team, it appears the Badgers are expected to qualify this weekend.