After a disappointing 10-7 loss to Iowa at Wrigley Field last Saturday, Northwestern travels up to Madison to play Wisconsin.

Two Wildcat streaks collide this week. Through nine games this year, Northwestern is yet to have back-to-back wins or losses. They stand at 4-5, and are due for a win to counter balance their loss to Iowa.

However, they've struggled mightily away from Ryan Field. The Wildcats have lost their last 14 true road games, stretching back to Purdue in 2020. It's a streak that Luke Fickell, in his first year at Wisconsin, and on the heels of an embarrassing 20-14 loss at Indiana, will be desperate to extend.

There is injury intrigue for both teams as Northwestern has opened the door for the return of quarterback Ben Bryant and Wisconsin has floated the possibility of the return of their starter, Tanner Mordecai.

Who will play quarterback for each team? Can Northwestern win in Madison for the first time since 2015, or will the Badgers secure bowl eligibility?

Here are our predictions:

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Fortune favors the bold, but that's just not me this week. I'm, surprisingly, going against BadgerBlitz' Seamus Rohrer and Louie and picking the Badgers. This was back-to-back blowouts the past two seasons. I fully trust Northwestern's defense has come a long way to make this a game, but that trust has not been instilled by the offense.

Even if Bryant returns, I think a motivated Badger defense that is desperate to lock up bowl eligibility for Fickell in his first season will prove too much to handle. Their bruising rushing attack, behind their offensive line, will grind away until the Wildcats are exhausted, especially if Braelon Allen plays for the Badgers, .

Northwestern punted on their first eight possessions against Iowa. They will have more going this game, but while Wisconsin's defense isn't Iowa, they also aren't Maryland after September. I think the streak stretches to 15 games and the Wildcats narrowly miss out on their third double-digit conference upset of the season.

Fearless forecast: Wisconsin 21, Northwestern 17

For the third time in four weeks, we’re going to bear witness to another low-scoring, defensive tug-of-war between two Big Ten West teams that have been strangers to the end zone. But both the Wildcats and Badgers may get their starting quarterbacks back on Saturday, after they’ve each missed their last four games. However, don’t expect a shootout, even if both Bryant and Mordecai play.

Northwestern doesn’t have much of a running game to rely on, so they’ll have a better shot with Bryant slinging the ball around. If he’s healthy and in form – two significant ifs – I think the Wildcats may have the edge offensively. But if the Badgers get the bruising Allen back from injury, he could tip the scales in the home team’s favor all by himself. As usual, though, it will be the team that makes fewer mistakes that will win the game.

Northwestern hasn’t won or lost two games in a row all season long. At the same time, the Cats haven’t won a game away from Ryan Field all year, either. Something has to give.

This one can go either way, but I’m going to go with the calendar over the venue. The Wildcats lost last week, so this one should be a win. Unless Connor Stalions shows up on the Badgers sideline. Then all bets are off.

Fearless Forecast: Northwestern 17, Wisconsin 13