Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual – #6 Oregon Ducks vs #8 Wisconsin Badgers

Our 2020 Rose Bowl pick is the third of four games being played on January 1. This Rose Bowl prediction offers Wisconsin at -3.0 and an over/under of 52.0. After the Rose Bowl, the fourth and final game for this day will be the Sugar Bowl with the #5 Georgia Bulldogs the #7 Baylor Bears. The Sugar Bowl kicks off at 8:45 pm ET at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA. The Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual will be played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California at 5 pm ET. The two other games on the docket today are the Citrus Bowl with #14 Michigan and #13 Alabama and the Outback Bowl with #18 Minnesota playing #12 Auburn.

The Oregon Ducks (11-2) ended the season at 8-1. That was four games ahead of the Pac-12 North’s second-place Oregon State Beavers. The Ducks went on to beat the winners of the South Division, the #11 Utah Utes, 37-15. That victory earned them the Pac-12 Championship. In the Big Ten, the Wisconsin Badgers (10-3) were 7-2, tying them with Minnesota for the best record in the West. However, the Badgers won the division due to their 38-17 beating of the Golden Gophers in the final week of the season. Wisconsin played #2 Ohio State for the Big Ten Championship. The Buckeyes won that battle and the title 34-21.

2020 Rose Bowl Pick – Regular Season

The Oregon Ducks started the season with a 27-21 loss to #16 Auburn. Our 2020 Rose Bowl pick observes that the Ducks then ran off nine wins in a row. That string of “W’s” included a 35-31 beating of #25 Washington. Also, late in the season, Arizona State took down the Ducks 31-28. Oregon ended the regular season with a 24-10 victory over arch rival Oregon State. As notes earlier, Oregon went on to win the Pac-12 Championship by beating the Utah Tues.

As the 2019 college football season started, the Wisconsin Badgers looked good. They won their first six games, including a convincing 34-14 victory over #11 Michigan. After those half-dozen wins, the Badgers hit a bump in the road, as Illinois beat them 24-23 and #3 Ohio State hammered them 38-7. Then Wisconsin enjoyed four more wins, including two against top 25 teams, On November 9, Wisconsin beat #18 Iowa 24-22, and on November 30, they took down #8 Minnesota 38-17. After winning the Big Ten West, as noted, they lost to OSU on the conference title game.

Oregon Ducks vs Wisconsin Badgers – Stats

Each team is averaging about 35 points per game on offense, and each is holding opponents to 16 PPG. In both stats, the Ducks hold a fractional edge. Oregon is generating 450.7 offensive YPG and Wisconsin 441.8. The Ducks’ offense is dominated by its passing game as they are averaging 267.5 air YPG. At the same time, their rushing yards are not diminutive as the Ducks are averaging 183.2 YPG. The Badgers rely on their ground game, as they are posting 240.5 rushing YPG. Their passing yards average 201.3 per game.

On defense, Wisconsin is holding teams to 293.5 defensive YPG. Oregon comes in at 329.6 YPG. The Badgers are keeping opponents to under 196 air and approximately 100 ground YPG. The Ducks are allowing opponents 222.8 passing and 106.8 rushing YPG.

Oregon at Wisconsin – Players

The Ducks get must of their offensive production from the pass, while the Badgers rely more on the run. Both defenses are solid. Although Oregon has some very impressive players on D, the Badgers seen to possess some gargantuan talents.

Oregon Ducks

QB Justin Herbert comes to the 106th Rose Bowl with 3,333 passing yards, 32 TD passes, and 66.7% completion rate. He’s thrown just five interceptions and has been sacked 22 times. A quartet of receivers have a total of 24 TD catches and over 150 receptions. Our 2020 Rose Bowl pick finds that the top performers are Johnny Johnson III and Jaylon Redd each of whom have seven TD receptions. Johnson leads the team with 55 pass catches and 818 yards. Sophomore RB C.J. Verdell has recorded 180 carries for 1,171 yards and eight scores, while RB Cyrus Habibi-Likio has crossed the goal line 10 times.

The Duck defense has performed at a high level, recording 41 sacks, 19 INTs, and 52 PD. They’ve also forced seven fumbles, recovering four. The unit has scored three TDs. Freshman DE Kayvon Thibodeaux tops the team with nine sacks, while safety Jevon Holland and Verone McKinley III have four interceptions each.

Wisconsin Badgers

QB Jack Coan has 2,541 passing yards and 17 TD tosses. Coan, who’s thrown just four picks, has a 70.1% completion rate. Coan has been sacked 19 times. WR Quintez Cephus leads the Badgers with 52 receptions, 842 yards, and six touchdown catches. Junior Jonathan Taylor is the primary offensive thrust on the team. He’s recorded 299 carries for 1,909 yards and 21 scores. He’s averaging 6.4 YPA. Taylor also brings 24 receptions for 209 yards and five scores.

The Wisconsin defense brings some very impressive stats to this contest. Those stats include 49 sacks, 65 PD, 11 INTs, and 14 FF. They’ve recovered 10 fumbles running two in for scores. The D also has returned two interceptions for scores. LBs Chris Orr and Zack Baun have recorded 11.5 and 12.5 sacks respectively. Safety Eric Burrell has defended six passes, grabbed three interceptions, and forced and recovered two fumbles.

Five Keys to the Game

In creating our 2020 Rose Bowl pick, we see the following as being the keys to this contest:

Our 2020 Rose Bowl Pick

Our 2020 Rose Bowl pick can see this game going either way. But the fact is the Badgers have some weapons for which the Dicks may not have an answer. The Wisconsin rush attack will be difficult to stop. You may say the same thing about the Oregon passing game. However, the Badgers bring both a daunting pass rush and an top-notch secondary to this game. We’re taking Wisconsin at -3.0. We like the under.

Rose Bowl Pick – Summary

Wisconsin Badgers at -3.0 and under 51.0