Wisconsin @ Indiana preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 16, 2013 ) Indiana 3, Wisconsin 51

While the teams at the top of the Big Ten East beat up on each other, Wisconsin is cruising atop the West Division and does not have a ranked team on its schedule the rest of the way. The Badgers, who were slotted at No. 9 in the first College Football Playoff rankings released on Tuesday, will try to stay undefeated Saturday when they visit an Indiana squad that has yet to earn a conference win.

Wisconsin holds a two-game lead over Northwestern and Nebraska in the West and already beat both of those teams, giving it the inside track to the Big Ten Championship Game. The Badgers have home games against Iowa and Michigan before finishing up the regular season at Minnesota and they continue to impress on the defensive end, where their average points allowed of 12.9 is good for fifth in FBS. The Hoosiers are not quite as sharp on defense and are coming off a 42-39 loss at Maryland that marked the third time in five Big Ten games that they allowed more than 40 points. "We've got the Badgers coming to town," Indiana head coach Tom Allen told reporters. "No time to feel sorry for anybody."

TV: Noon, ET, ABC. LINE: Wisconsin -12

ABOUT WISCONSIN (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten): The Badgers lost a huge part of their offense last week, when freshman running back Jonathan Taylor did not play in the second half due to a left leg injury. Taylor, who leads the Big Ten in rushing yards with 1,185, is listed as questionable for Saturday. Wisconsin managed just 303 total yards of offense in the 24-10 win at Illinois last week, with Garrett Groshek and Bradrick Shaw combining for 91 yards on 24 carries in place of Taylor.

ABOUT INDIANA (3-5, 0-5): The Hoosiers are dealing with an injury at quarterback as freshman Peyton Ramsey had to leave last week's loss at Maryland twice due to a knee issue. "It's day-to-day right now to see what will happen this weekend (with Ramsey)," Allen told reporters. "He's rehabbing to get himself squared away. Yeah, he's taken some hits and has that style of play. He is an amazingly tough kid." Ramsey still managed to throw three TD passes last week while senior Richard Lagow came on in relief and threw for a pair of scores as the two combined for 410 yards.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Hoosiers WRs Simmie Cobbs Jr. (10), Luke Timian (13) and Whop Philyor (13) became the first trio of receivers in school history to record at least 10 catches apiece in a single game last week.

2. The Badgers' 11-game Big Ten winning streak is the longest in program history.

3. Wisconsin took the last nine meetings by an average of 36.8 points.

PREDICTION: Wisconsin 35, Indiana 17