The Northwestern Wildcats will try to bounce back from their first regular season Big Ten loss in almost a year when they face the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. The Wildcats (1-2, 0-1 in Big Ten) fell 31-10 to Michigan State last week, ending Northwestern's seven-game winning streak in regular season conference games. The loss was the team's first regular season Big Ten defeat since Sept. 29, 2018. The Wildcats cannot afford another conference loss if they hope to repeat as Big Ten West champions. Meanwhile the Badgers (3-0) are coming off a 35-14 destruction of No. 11 Michigan in a game that was never in doubt. Kickoff is noon ET on Saturday. The Badgers are 24-point favorites in the latest Wisconsin vs. Northwestern odds, while the over-under for total points scored is 46. Before making any Wisconsin vs. Northwestern picks or college football predictions of your own, you need to see which side Mike Tierney is picking.

No one knows football like Tierney. The veteran sportswriter, whose work has appeared in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, has covered college football of all levels for decades. And that expertise has been evident since he joined SportsLine in 2017. Over the last two seasons, he has gone 109-92 on college football against the spread picks. In addition, he is an amazing 7-3 in his last 10 against the spread picks involving Wisconsin. Anyone who has followed up is way up. 

Now, he has analyzed Wisconsin vs. Northwestern from every possible angle and locked in another confident against the spread pick. It's available only at SportsLine. 

Tierney has taken into account that running back Jonathan Taylor has been an unstoppable force to start the season. No player has scored more touchdowns (10) or points (60) this year than Taylor. In addition the junior from New Jersey ranks third in the country in rushing yards per game (146.7) and fifth in all-purpose yards (170.0). With Taylor leading the way, Wisconsin ranks seventh in the country in scoring offense (48.3 points a game) and 12th in rushing offense (264.0 yards per game).

Tierney also has factored in that the Badgers have arguably the best defense in the nation. Wisconsin hadn't allowed a single point this season until Michigan scored a touchdown late in the third quarter last week -- the Badgers' 11th quarter this year. Wisconsin leads the country in scoring defense (4.7 points per game), total defense (171.3 yards per game), rush defense (27.0 yards per game) and passing efficiency defense (75.73).

But just because the Badgers appear to have the edge on paper does not guarantee they will cover the Wisconsin vs. Northwestern spread.

The Wildcats won't be intimidated playing a Big Ten team away from home. In fact, Northwestern has won eight straight conference games on the road and is 15-2 in its last 17 Big Ten games overall. That includes a 31-17 victory over the Badgers last season in Evanston.

Northwestern has also had success slowing Taylor the last two seasons. The Wildcats have held the Wisconsin running back to just 126 yards on 30 carries over two games. They've also forced him to fumble twice.

We can tell you Tierney is leaning over, but his much stronger play is on the spread. He's found a critical x-factor that makes one side of the spread hit hard on Saturday. He's sharing what it is, and who to back, only at SportsLine.

Who wins Northwestern vs. Wisconsin? And what critical x-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Northwestern vs. Wisconsin spread you should be all over Saturday, all from the football expert who 7-3 on picks involving Wisconsin.