Once again, the crew at Capital Times sports will offer its predictions heading into every University of Wisconsin Badgers football game this year.

But this year, there's a twist: We're picking against the spread. And so far, this year has been almost as tough on us as it has been for the Badgers.

This isn't an endorsement of gambling, but rather an attempt to up the ante for our crew, which has rolled through a series of double-digit victory totals over the past four seasons as the Badgers have re-established themselves as a national powerhouse and removed the mystery from the outcome of most games.

This week, the challenge lies in simply determining the line, because none of the traditional powers-that-be in Las Vegas are touching this unpredictable matchup against Cal Poly, one of the top teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA).

Notably, the Sagarin Ratings, a factor in the BCS standings, compute an advantage for the Badgers of just 14 points -- on par with the spread in last week's game against Minnesota, and well below the marks set for early-season matchups against Akron (UW plus-26.5) and Marshall (UW plus-21).

Our crew settled on Wisconsin being favored by 18.5 points as a reasonable middle ground heading into Saturday's showdown against the Mustangs, which will kick off at 2:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

MIKE LUCAS

Smash mouth vs. finesse. Chuck Liddell might take exception to that characterization of his alma mater. The legendary "Iceman" is from San Luis Obispo and wrestled at Cal Poly before turning his undivided attention to dominating the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division. Liddell majored in accounting and played one year of football with the Mustangs. We can only assume the Iceman won't be walking through that door Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. And neither will other Cal Poly alums like John Madden, Ozzie Smith and Weird Al Yankovic.

Pick: Wisconsin 30, Cal Poly 7

Season record: 7-4 overall, 6-5 against the spread

JIM POLZIN

Bret Bielema has been defending Cal Poly's inclusion on UW's schedule ever since the announcement of this game was made last spring. Imagine the uproar if the Mustangs throw a scare into the Badgers -- or, gulp, pull off the upset. That shouldn't happen, especially if UW pounds the ball. The last team to bring a gimmicky defense into Camp Randall Stadium -- Akron in the season opener -- got run over to the tune of 400 rushing yards by the Badgers. Cal Poly's explosive offense will move the ball and put some points on the board, but it won't be on the field enough to cause major damage if UW can hog the ball with a steady dose of P.J. Hill and John Clay.

Pick: Wisconsin 41, Cal Poly 27

Season record: 7-4 overall, 5-6 against the spread

ADAM MERTZ

It was easy to be reminded this week about the danger of highlight reels as a means of measuring the potency of a team. The first four Cal Poly clips that appeared on a YouTube search showed a series of offensive plays that were marvelously designed and executed, with the opponent mesmerized by the odd formations, multiple motion patterns, and unorthodox misdirection sequences. But then up pops a video posted by the mighty University of Idaho, in which the Vandals have seemingly sniffed out every counter for a five-yard loss and made Cal Poly quarterback Jonathan Dally look like the second coming of T.J. Rubley. Given the Badgers' susceptibility to the big play this season, expect a few of the Cal Poly-flavored clips, which will make this game more interesting than people are treating it. But on the whole, expect Bucky to mirror the Vandals. In short, if you're trading in your red-and-white for blaze orange on Saturday, we understand.