The Wisconsin football team had to scratch and fight all night in the first game of the 2024 season. After falling behind 14-13 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, the Badgers rallied to score the final 15 points to beat the Western Michigan Broncos. The Wisconsin football offense generated over 300 yards of total offense and averaged over four yards per rush. All in all, it wasn’t a very good night. Here are some takeaways from the first game of the season.
The Wisconsin football team has a really good running back duo
There’s almost no replacing how crucial Braelon Allen has been over the last three seasons. The stats may not have always shown it, but the offense was at its best when he played well.
Wisconsin football was able to pluck senior Tawee Walker out of the transfer portal to fill Allen’s role. I thought Walker played really well after recording 15 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown. Senior Chez Mellusi finished the night with 74 yards on 19 carries and a score.
Anytime you have a solid duo of running backs, it helps on nights like tonight and throughout the season. I think Wisconsin football has another duo of running backs it can rely on.
Wisconsin Football’s defensive line appears to be a problem again
Losing James Thompson Jr. is a large loss for the Wisconsin football defense. That much was clear after one game. The defensive line and linebackers failed to get to Hayden Wolff all night, recording just one sack. Wolff was just 12-for-18 for 141 yards, but he was never under sustained pressure.
The front seven is the group Luke Fickell has been targeting in the transfer portal. It will take some time, but it wasn’t a promising start. However, I thought the linebacker speed was spot on. The only sack of the game came from defensive lineman Elijah Hills. He should get a ton of plays moving forward.
There are more questions than answers
The first year of the Luke Fickell era was not what most fans, myself included, were expecting. I think the fans came to terms with that and accepted it by the end of the season. When you get into the second year with a coaching staff, there’s no room for excuses anymore.
If you remember last year’s game against Buffalo, offensive coordinator Phil Longo was cautious the entire game with a modern quarterback and modern receivers. While tonight the offense had a modern quarterback, the receivers were basically the same as last season. In my opinion, Phil Longo did not have a good night.
It’s only been 14 games, but this isn’t the offense that Wisconsin football fans were expecting. The Badgers offense has barely taken a single shot down the field. Tyler Van Dyke has been haphazard with the ball at times and has gotten away with a handful of what should have been interceptions. This is a very good receiving group led by Will Pauling. There’s no reason he shouldn’t have had 60 yards tonight.
I liked the way the Wisconsin football offense ran 44 plays in three possessions in the first half. However, they only managed 10 points. I don’t think last year’s team could have done that, but it doesn’t matter how many plays you have when you can’t get the ball into the end zone.
On the positive side, I thought the defense was pretty solid overall. Seven of the 14 points came on a Western Michigan field goal. The second touchdown was a long drive that became a header after a few missed drives. The Broncos needed four downs on the one-yard line to get into the end zone.
The Badgers don’t win many games the way they played tonight. Alabama comes to town in two weeks and has a tough Big Ten schedule, so there are a lot of things the Wisconsin football team needs to work on. There will definitely be a lot of questions from fans this week.
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