Football expert Phil Steele is the owner and publisher of Phil Steele’s College Football Preview, regarded as the college football bible. Get in-depth coverage of college and pro football 24/7/365 at PhilSteele.com and follow him on Twitter @philsteele042.
Wisconsin (-13) over ILLINOIS: The Badgers have held true to form dropping both games as an underdog against Arizona State and Ohio State. Conversely, Wisconsin has dominated the foes it was expected to beat, winning all four games by an average of 38 ppg. The Illini clearly fall into the latter group, especially with a defense that has allowed 568 ypg (304 ypg rushing) to Washington and Nebraska. The Badgers lead the nation with 7.1 yards per carry rushing and are No. 5 in overall in rushing at 298 ypg, making it domination on the line of scrimmage and on the scoreboard.
ARIZONA (-4) over Utah: The lesson in this selection is “never underestimate emotions.” This game is almost the perfect storm. Arizona is off a national TV road loss against an excited and loose USC team playing for an interim head coach with nothing to lose. Utah, meanwhile, is off arguably the biggest win in school history, upsetting No. 5 Stanford in front of a homecoming crowd. This week, the Wildcats are home for the first time in five weeks, hungry for a win, while the Utes are traveling for only the second time this season after losing four conference road games last year by 18 ppg.
LAST WEEK (NCAA): 1-1.
SEASON: 5-8-1.