The Heartland Line
Wisconsin gets a second straight primetime game, hosting USC on NBC
NBC put Wisconsin's Week 8 home game against No. 19 USC in primetime. First, the 4-1 Badgers play under the lights at No. 12 UCLA.
Wisconsin will play under the lights for a second straight week. NBC has put the Badgers' Week 8 home game against No. 19 USC in its primetime window, Wisconsin Badgers On SI reported. The matchup in Madison follows Wisconsin's Saturday night trip to No. 12 UCLA, which is also on NBC.
According to Wisconsin Badgers On SI, the network picked what may be the most appealing Big Ten game on the Week 8 schedule. Wisconsin is 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play. Its most recent game was a lopsided win over Michigan State before a bye week. USC is 6-1 and has won twice since a 41-7 loss to Oregon. The latest of those wins was a 31-23 result at Penn State during the White Out, which left the Nittany Lions 0-3 in the Big Ten.
USC is off in Week 7, so it will be rested when it gets to Madison. Wisconsin has to go to Pasadena first. The Badgers play UCLA on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m. EDT on NBC. The Bruins are 5-0, and Wisconsin Badgers On SI notes that their No. 12 ranking is the program's highest since 2022.
The UCLA result will help decide how big the USC game becomes. A win would put Wisconsin at 5-1 and 3-0 in the Big Ten, with road wins over teams ranked No. 13 and No. 12 at the time. The outlet said that résumé would almost certainly lift the Badgers into the AP Top 25, which would make the game against USC a ranked matchup in prime time.
The market expects a close game at the Rose Bowl. UCLA is favored at -122 on Novig, one of the venues pricing the game, and Pinnacle has the Bruins at -126. The spread is UCLA -2.5, and the total is 44.5. Full pricing is on the game page.
USC has an obvious matchup weakness for Wisconsin to target. The Trojans rank 68th nationally in total defense at 350 yards allowed per game. Their secondary ranks 108th, giving up 239 passing yards per game. Their offense has been a strength. Quarterback Jayden Maiava has thrown for 2,045 yards and has 20 total touchdowns against three interceptions.
Wisconsin Badgers On SI also noted that USC has not yet beaten a true contender, and the loss to Oregon hurt the team's reputation. Linebacker Desman Stephen II made what the outlet called a blatantly illegal hit on Ducks quarterback Dante Moore during that game. In the outlet's view, Wisconsin's path is to keep the game physical and focused on the line of scrimmage, because it cannot afford to get into a shootout with Maiava and USC's receivers.
That game is still two weeks away. Wisconsin's rise in the Big Ten race, and its chance at a ranked prime-time game at home, depends first on how it plays against UCLA on Saturday night.
