I'm a BG grad who has been living in Wisconsin since Dave McClaine (Doyt Perry's son-in-law if I'm not mistaken) coached the Badgers. During the Barry Alvarez years, I think Wisconsin was the type of Big 10 team that Mid-Am teams have the most trouble with. The Badgers under Alvarez didn't worry too much about finess. They lined up behind a line of behemoths (the one type of football player that Wisconsin High Schools have no shortage of) and ran right at you. No spread offenses like Purdue and Northwestern, no experimenting with a passing game -- just knock the smaller Mid-Am d-line 3 yards off the ball and get a running back among the defensive backs before they realized he was there.
My first instinct is to choose the Badgers by about 14. But then I think of some other things.
For instance:
* Last year, in post-game comments, you could tell Badger players were awed by Omar Jacobs' performance. This year, they know he's gone and can't conceive that BG would have anyone in the same class. They also know BG's No. 1 QB won't play.
* The Badgers have a new head coach -- one who has never been head coach before. No matter how prepared you are, being the head guy is a learning experiencce (as Barry Alvarez discovered his first couple of years at Wisconsin).
* The game won't be at Camp Randall -- where the Badgers are damn hard to beat. I wish it were at the Doyt, because I think the smaller stadium would really freak the Badgers out. Still, a potentially half-full Cleveland stadium will seem odd to them.
* Going into last year's game, the Badger's Brian Calhoun hadn't played a down for Wisconsin yet, but had been in some very big games -- including a 100-plus yard effort in a Bowl game for Colorado. The Badger's starting tailback hasn't had a collegiate carry yet, and hasn't carried the ball in a real game for almost 2 years (and that one was in high school). First big hits in a college game could see the ball on the ground a couple of times.
* BG's defense has got to be better than it was last year. I was at the game -- in my BG cap and t-shirt, sitting amongst all of my Wisconsin friends -- and couldn't believe the lousy tackling. I have to believe it's going to be better.
In conclusion, I'm going with the Badgers being over-confident and making some mistakes due to inexperience both on the field and on the sideline. I call in BG 26-Wisconsin 21.
) on the big bad Badgers. 
