Wisconsin-Rutgers preview, prediction — and how will Badgers fans watch the game?

MADISON, Wis. — When the Big Ten finalized a seven-year media rights deal with CBS, Fox and NBC worth nearly $8 billion, it guaranteed the league would receive maximum television exposure and be fiscally well-positioned for its future in a changing college sports landscape. That meant more opportunities to watch games across multiple networks, including a weekly Saturday prime-time football game on NBC.

But here’s what it also means: You, the fan, have to decide just how much you’re willing to invest in that package. Because part of the deal for this season includes nine college football games that are exclusively streamed on Peacock, a subscription service that costs $5.99 a month, plus tax.

Wisconsin’s first game exclusively on Peacock takes place Saturday when it plays host to Rutgers at 11 a.m. (CT). And with kickoff on the horizon, I wondered how Badgers fans felt about the arrangement. So, I posed a question on X (formerly known as Twitter) asking how folks planned to handle the situation. I left the poll live for six hours Thursday and received 1,541 votes. Here are the results:

Question for Wisconsin fans: What will you do about the Badgers playing Rutgers on Peacock?
— Jesse Temple (@jessetemple) October 5, 2023

Most surprising to me was the fact that the highest percentage of respondents (40.8 percent) already subscribed to Peacock. The second-most votes belonged to people who said they would not sign up (39.6 percent) while the third-most votes went to people who said they would sign up for the game but cancel later (17.7 percent). I realize this is not a fool-proof method for determining fan behavior, in part because not signing up doesn’t mean fans wouldn’t find a way to tune in.

Among the more hilarious responses I received in the comments section was from someone who said (jokingly, I assume) that he wouldn’t spend $6 on Peacock and would find a bar showing the game so he could drop $100 there instead. Others said they would listen to the game on the radio — including those living abroad, where Peacock isn’t available — find a stream online for free, wait to watch the highlights on YouTube or simply go to the game. Some said they would be willing to pay for Peacock if it were a better matchup but refused to do so for what is considered to be a lower-tier type of game.

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Whatever Badgers fans choose, the reality is that entertainment subscription services have become part of the fabric of life for many people and aren’t going away anytime soon. This website, for example, wouldn’t exist without the support of subscribers around the world. But fans will have to decide which services are worth their hard-earned money, and Peacock is among the many options in that group.

And while Wisconsin football may not have its most marquee games broadcast exclusively on Peacock this year, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future. Just look at Wisconsin’s basketball schedule, which was announced with TV times earlier this week. Five big-time matchups are on Peacock this season — Tennessee (Nov. 10), Michigan State (Dec. 5), Ohio State (Feb. 13), Maryland (Feb. 20) and Indiana (Feb. 27).

Fans have every right not to like it, but that won’t change the direction things are headed under the league’s TV package.

Inside linebacker lineup

One of the more noticeable developments from Wisconsin’s game against Purdue two weeks ago was that inside linebacker Maema Njongmeta, a team captain who had started 14 games dating back to last season, played a total of one snap. That snap didn’t come until the final fourth down play of the game for Wisconsin’s defense. Jake Chaney started in place of Njongmeta and played opposite Jordan Turner.

Njongmeta played 56 snaps against Buffalo, 60 against Washington State and 65 against Georgia Southern, according to Pro Football Focus. He also possesses the best run defense grade on the team, per PFF. So it was curious to see him spend the majority of the Purdue game on the sideline.

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Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said earlier this week that the staff simply liked Chaney for an opponent that would spread out the defense more.

“It became really difficult in that game in particular to roll just on how much they were not giving you opportunities to sub and do some things and just the way the game was going with them playing,” Fickell said. “But I think that we feel like we’ve got three starting linebackers inside. Some way, somehow, we can roll those guys and do a better job at making sure they’re all involved in what it is that we’re doing.”

Njongmeta told reporters this week that coaches explained to him as the game went along that they wanted to keep Chaney on the field. He was asked whether he could understand why some people were puzzled about his lack of playing time.

“I fielded a million questions about this from friends, family, the whole wild world,” Njongmeta said. “But at the end of the day, I didn’t break a team rule, in case people were wondering. My mom called me and she was like, ‘Did you break a team rule?’ My mom loves Twitter. I didn’t break a team rule.

“It’s one of those things that people will always look from the outside in and make their judgment calls, make their decisions. They’ll quarterback from the couch and at the end of the day, we have a staff, we have a team dedicated to making sure that this program is in the best place possible moving forward. So they’re going to make the decision for that. As a player, as a captain, my role is to embrace those decisions, be there for those guys and embrace my role and be the best at it, no matter what that role is on that given day. I’m happy to do that whatever that looks like.”

Njongmeta, who suffered a broken right thumb during the preseason, did not address whether he was healthy enough to play more, saying only, “They asked me to contribute in a certain way on Friday, and I was happy to contribute that way.”

Renfro a ‘viable option’

Wisconsin center Jake Renfro hasn’t taken consistent first-team snaps since the first week of spring practices six months ago. He sustained a stress fracture in his left leg and then, while working with the second-team group this preseason, suffered a sprained right foot. Fickell said Renfro has returned to practice and started ramping up with more snaps while working with the reserves.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Badgers fans should expect to see a wholesale change with Renfro returning to the starting group, moving Tanor Bortolini back to guard and sliding either Joe Huber or Michael Furtney out of the first-team unit.

“I think that after this past week and going into this week, he’s a true viable option for us,” Fickell said. “I don’t know that we’re going to shift things around maybe like we started spring ball where he was kind of in there and we moved Bort over to a guard. I don’t think we’re there yet.

“But I think it’s a great opportunity for Jake to get himself back into a position where we can count on him. If we need him, obviously he’ll be there. But I think that there’s some things for him to continue to grow and even get healthier and healthier. Not that he’s not healthy, but I just mean in all the different situations he’s had. I think he’s in a really good place right now. But I don’t know that we would change up a lot of what we’re doing.”

Prediction

Rutgers is 4-1 but hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record yet. I don’t make too much of the fact that Rutgers just beat FCS school Wagner 52-3, although the Scarlet Knights’ six rushing touchdowns certainly do stand out. Rutgers now has 15 rushing touchdowns this season, which leads the Big Ten and is one more than Wisconsin. And that’s one area I’m most interested to see in this matchup.

Wisconsin had trouble with its run defense two weeks ago against Purdue, allowing 194 yards and 6.3 yards per carry. Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt has significantly improved this season, and he poses the type of running threat that can challenge the Badgers. Last month, he carried 11 times for 87 yards with a touchdown against Virginia Tech.

Still, I feel the same about this game as I did the Purdue game (which I predicted as 31-17 and ended up as a 38-17 victory). This is one in which I’d expect the Badgers to win by multiple scores at home. Wisconsin showed some good things early against Purdue by scoring touchdowns on its first three drives. Even with an injury to running back Chez Mellusi, there are enough pieces in place to succeed. Maybe that means tailback Braelon Allen has to take on a bigger role and quarterback Tanner Mordecai is called on more in the passing game. This is the start of an eight-game stretch after an off week that can put Wisconsin on a path to the Big Ten title game.

Wisconsin 28, Rutgers 14

(Photo of Tanner Mordecai: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)