In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, laryngitis can’t keep Lucas down as he and Oates take a look at the highly anticipated matchup between the Packers and the Lions this Sunday. It’s a shame that both teams are facing some big injuries, but even with the Lions’ dominant victory this weekend, Oates says the Packers still have a chance. The Packers are a good team, even if they still need to pull everything together. But the Lions are a major threat, with one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. Add in Jarod Goff, who has had a real career turn around since joining the Lions, and their record starts to make sense. Still, Oates thinks the Packers have a chance this weekend even if Malik Willis is on the field.

Why could Willis be on the field? Jordan Love saw a groin injury on Sunday, but thankfully it doesn’t seem to be too serious and he’s still a hard maybe for Sunday. But while nobody is saying Love is injury-prone, his MLC sprain may be coming back to haunt him throughout the season. If he does sit out this weekend, it may be for the best as the Packers have a bye week after taking on the Lions. 

Meanwhile in Camp Randall, the Badgers fell to Penn State on Saturday, and are set to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes this weekend. The Badgers need to up their passing attack, says Oates. Braedyn Locke is good when he’s protected, but he needs work when he is under pressure. Locke needs to start learning from his mistakes and upping his passing game if the Badgers want to be competitive against these bigger teams. 

Finishing things off, the Badgers Men’s Basketball team makes their season opener on Wednesday night against River Falls. They’ll take on some smaller teams before taking on Arizona on November 15. That night, they’ll be raising the Bo Ryan banner, an honor he 100% deserves. But looking at the team this year, while nobody’s seen them play a game quite yet, Oates has seen a few practices and says not to count them out this season. The Big 10 doesn’t have a ton of great players this season, and the Badgers have a few guys who could turn out to be real breakout players.

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.