Washington State Cougars: Game 2 at Wisconsin – TV, Weather, More
Washington State Cougars Football moves to Week 2 as the Cougs travel to Wisconsin. Pacific Northwest Sports has all you need to know.
PNWS presents what you need to know as the Washington State Cougars head to the heart of Big Ten Country to face Wisconsin for Game 2 of the 2022 season. PNWS has Washington State football fans covered.
Details
Who: Washington State Cougars (1-0) at #18 Wisconsin Badgers (1-0).
Where: Camp Randall Stadium – Madison Wisconsin
When: Saturday, September 10, 2021 – 12:30 p.m. PST.
TV: FOX. Announcers: Jason Benetti, Brock Huard, and Allison Williams.
Weather: Clouds increase as showers move into the Madison area. Rain should hold off until the game ends. The possibility still exists for wet conditions. Temperatures start in the low to mid-70s, and there will be a light but noticeable breeze around 10 mph all day. (weather.com)
Line: Washington State +17.5. Over/Under: 49 (Odds Shark).
Interesting Trends
The Washington State Cougars are doing pretty well recently, winning 7 of their last 10 games (and they should probably be 9-1). Against the spread, Wazzu has dropped two straight and 3 of 5 but covered in 5 of 6 against Big Ten teams.
Wisconsin is on a roll in their last 10 games, losing only once. The Badgers are on a five-game winning streak at home and haven’t lost to an unranked team at Camp Randall Stadium in 23 months. For bettors, the team struggled to beat the spread recently, going 1-3.
Injury Report
Washington State Cougars
Out – WR Zeriah Benson (eligibility), WR Robert Ferrel. Doubtful – RB Djouvensky Schlenbaker. TE Andre Dollar was out, and defensive end Ron Stone Jr. played sparingly last week. Both should be 100% for the Badgers.
Wisconsin Badgers
Out (season) – S Travian Blalock, DE Mike Jarvis, ILB Luna Larson. Out (game) – QB Chase Wolf, WR Stephan Bracey, TE Cam Large, S Hunter Wohler, OLB Aaron Witt, DE Isaac Townsend, ILB Spencer Lytle, OL Tanor Bortolini.
Outlook
Wisconsin thrives on defense. Last season they gave up the fewest yards per game (239.7) and fourth-fewest points (16.2). Needless to say, points will be hard to come by.
The biggest point of emphasis for the Washington State Cougars’ offense will be in the trenches. Their offensive line will need to give quarterback Cameron Ward enough time to get rid of the ball. Also, if they can open some holes for running back Nakia Watson, it will stop the defense from teeing off on Ward.
Speaking of Watson, this is a homecoming for him. He played his first two college seasons in Madison before transferring to Washington State. Watson is keyed up for this game and has something to prove. In a mid-week presser, he said, “I’m going in there with a chip on my shoulder.”
Before he transferred to #WSU, RB Nakia Watson rushed for 522 yards and five TDs on 127 carries during the 19-20 seasons with #Wisconsin.
"(Returning to Madison) means a lot to me. It's the old stomping grounds.
"I know them, so it'll be fun to play against them."— Colton Clark (@SpokesmanClark) September 6, 2022
Last week against Illinois State, the Badgers were led by running back Braelon Allen, who rushed for 148 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Coming off a near 1,300-yard season in 2021, he’s impressed the Cougs’ head coach.
Jake Dickert, a Wisconsin Native who grew up a Badgers fan, said Allen reminds him of another of the school’s all-time greats, 1999 Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne.
With Allen carrying the mail, Badgers’ quarterback Graham Mertz doesn’t need to be prolific, just steady. He completes 61.6% of his passes but doesn’t pile up big stats. Last week was only the seventh time, since becoming the starter midway through 2020, that he threw for over 200 yards in a game
This will be a hard game for the Washington State Cougars to win. But not impossible. At the least, Wazzu will cover the point spread.
Related Story: 5 questions Washington State need to answer for Wisconsin
Catch up with PNWS on Sunday when we present our biggest takeaways from the game.