South Dakota vs Wisconsin Odds
| South Dakota Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+22 -110 | 47 -110o / -110u | +1300 |
| Wisconsin Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-22 -110 | 47 -110o / -110u | -2800 |
The South Dakota Coyotes (1-0) travel to Madison to take on the Wisconsin Badgers (1-0) on Saturday, Sept. 7 with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
Wisconsin is projected as a 20-point favorite with a total of 45.5. So, where does the betting value lie in this FBS vs. FCS showdown?
Let's dive into my South Dakota vs. Wisconsin prediction for Saturday's college football game.
South Dakota vs Wisconsin Prediction
- South Dakota vs Wisconsin Pick: Wisconsin -22
My South Dakota-Wisconsin best bet is on the Badgers to cover the spread. Check out the best line on our live NCAAF odds page.
South Dakota vs Wisconsin Preview
South Dakota Coyotes Betting Preview: Can Coyotes Compete?
The Coyotes come into this matchup off a season-opening home win over Division II Northern State. The ‘Yotes scored a pair of special teams touchdowns in the decisive victory, while Charles Pierre Jr. rushed for a pair of scores.
South Dakota forced several Northern State miscues that led to 31 first-half points, as the Coyotes were in complete control.
Northern State plays in the NSIC and is considered one of the weaker teams in a relatively weak Division II conference, so there's little tangible evidence to draw from here.
The Coyotes dominated this lesser foe — as they should have — and they did it by running the ball on 75% of plays.
The game plan for South Dakota was unsurprisingly conservative, presumably to keep its offensive attack off film for its next opponent.
USD comes into the season as a top-five FCS program, and it has a lot to like about its team this year.
Ten starters return on offense, led by quarterback Aidan Bouman. Bouman is in his third year in the program and finished last year with 2,551 passing yards and a 15:6 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Meanwhile, Pierre and Travis Theis are the duo to watch out for in the backfield after combining for 22 yards and three scores in the opener.
Everyone in the wide receiver room is back this year, and the Coyotes also brought in a talented receiver from Western Illinois in AJ Coons.
The offensive line is a veteran group as well and will be one of the top lines in the Missouri Valley Football Conference this season.
Defensively, the line is in good shape. The Coyotes bring two back from last year’s starting rotation and added Cornell transfer Connor Morgan and UConn transfer Carter Hooper
The secondary is rock solid, ranking fourth in the MVFC in PDR, and has three starters back. However, the linebacker corps will likely fall off a bit.
Overall, the defense returns six starters from last year’s squad, and with head coach Bob Nielsen entering his ninth season in Vermillion, there's enough continuity to compete.
This will be a team in the mix for an FCS Playoff spot, and it should be deep enough to compete with South Dakota State and North Dakota State in the MVFC this fall.
Wisconsin Badgers Betting Preview: Badgers Look to Bounce Back After Bad Bout
Wisconsin escaped a real scare against MAC foe Western Michigan in a game that was much closer than most anticipated.
The Badgers were 24-point favorites over the Broncos but never threatened to cover the number and were trailing into the fourth quarter.
The turning point came with 12 minutes left in the fourth, as WMU was set to get the ball back with the lead. However, Wisconsin recovered a fumble on the punt and punched it in with a two-point conversion four plays later to take a seven-point lead.
The Badgers then tacked on a score late to ultimately win by 14.
There are some takeaways on both sides of this one.
Wisconsin didn’t play very well in an opener for the second year in a row under head coach Luke Fickell. It found itself in third-down situations all game and had zero explosive rushes against the Broncos.
Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke was also underwhelming in his Badger debut, as Wisconsin lacked explosiveness and couldn't generate hunk plays in the passing game.
I tip my cap to WMU; this game was not fluky. The Broncos hung in there on defense all night and were certainly the more motivated team playing with high emotion.
It also makes me wonder if Wisconsin was prepping intently for Western Michigan or if it spent most of fall camp working on a game plan for Alabama, which comes to town on Sept. 14.
South Dakota vs Wisconsin Pick & Prediction
Wisconsin's lackluster performance could give us a little extra line value on the Badgers here. Everyone will remember the uninspiring performance when going to the betting window, but I don't see this going well for South Dakota.
I expect Wisconsin to gain chunk plays in the run game and lean into its offensive line in the late stages. USD's defensive front will suffer in this game, and the inexperience at linebacker could show against the pass here.
It's clear that the gap between FBS and FCS teams is getting wider — an unintended consequence of the transfer portal and NIL. It's getting harder and harder for even the elite FCS teams to remain competitive against the majority of FBS.
While I do believe USD will give maximum effort in this game, I don't see the Coyotes having the offensive success necessary to cover a relatively high projected spread.
Wisconsin will clean up some of the mistakes we saw in Week 1 and play with more intensity before hosting Alabama.
Pick: Wisconsin -22 (Play to -26.5)
How to Watch South Dakota vs Wisconsin Live: Start Time, TV Channel, Location
| Location: | Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, WI |
| Date: | Saturday, Sept. 7 |
| Kickoff Time: | 3:30 p.m. ET |
| TV / Streaming: | FS1 |
South Dakota vs Wisconsin Weather
