Two Big Ten Conference teams looking to avoid ending the regular season with a losing streak square off on Friday as the Wisconsin Badgers host the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Camp Randall Stadium in the "Battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe." Wisconsin (5-6, 3-5) has followed a three-game winning streak with its first four-game skid since 2008, which includes a 44-25 setback at Nebraska last weekend. Minnesota (6-5, 4-4) dropped a 26-25 decision to Penn State this past Saturday, its second straight loss after a four-game string of victories. The Badgers have won 24 of their last 29 meetings with the Golden Gophers and have a 63-62-8 edge in the most-played FBS rivalry in college football history.

Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET on CBS and Paramount+. The Badgers are 2.5-point favorites in the latest Wisconsin vs. Minnesota odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 42.5. Before making any Minnesota vs. Wisconsin picks or CFB predictions, you need to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

The model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a profit of well over $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It also is a strong 27-17 on all top-rated picks over the past nine weeks of this season. Anyone who has followed it has seen STRONG returns!

The model knows that despite losing at Nebraska, the Badgers received a solid effort from quarterback Braedyn Locke. The redshirt sophomore came up with one of his best performances of the season, completing 20-of-30 pass attempts for 292 yards and three touchdowns. Senior wideout Bryson Green hauled in two of the scoring passes while the other went to junior Vinny Anthony II, who made seven catches for a career-high 137 yards.

The model also has taken into account that Minnesota posted a 23-16 victory in its last trip to Wisconsin and is 3-4 against the Badgers under head coach P.J. Fleck, who will be celebrating his 44th birthday on Friday. The Golden Gophers rank 12th in the nation in total defense (302.3 yards allowed) and are tied for 14th in takeaways (20) and 15th in points allowed (18.5). Wide receiver Daniel Jackson has hauled in 20 passes for 300 yards in four career meetings with Wisconsin and made a touchdown catch in each of the last two encounters.

The model has simulated Minnesota vs. Wisconsin 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you the model is leaning Over on the total, and it also says one side of the spread hits over 50% of the time!

Who wins Wisconsin vs. Minnesota, and which side of the spread hits over 50% of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the spread you should be all over, all from the model that is 27-17 on top-rated CFB picks over the past nine weeks!