Only 2 more days. What to know for Western Michigan. How many Badgers made the 53 at the next level?

Game Preview: Western Michigan

Western Michigan at Wisconsin 

Where: Camp Randall Stadium

When: Friday, 8/30 – 8:00 PM (CST)

How to Watch: FS1

Spread: Wisconsin (-23.5)

O/U: 55.5 

Western Michigan Broncos 2023 Record: 4-8

Western Michigan is mostly unknown. So much so that even Fickell admitted this in his pregame presser on Monday. They have new offensive and defensive coordinators and had plenty of roster churn last offseason. The main concern for Wisconsin (minor concern) is the returning QB/RB combo of Kaleb Eleby and Jalen Buckley who finished strong last season. 

What concerns me about Wisconsin:

The DL was by far the shakiest unit on the team all offseason. Now, Senior starter James Thompson Jr. is out for the season, making a weak unit a genuine liability. If the Badgers can’t stop the run against Western Michigan, it’s an ill omen for the rest of the season.

What I want to see:

The forward pass and lots of Tawee Walker carries. Tyler Van Dyke has 2 weeks to work out the kinks of being on a new team. Let’s throw …

How many games can Wisconsin win in 2024? Where will the 3 rivalry trophies end up? And Wisco plays how many top 10 teams at home?

Week 1 – Western Michigan at Wisconsin 

Friday Aug 30th – 8:00 PM

Line: Wisconsin -24.5

Prediction: Win – Wisco 38, Western Michigan 14

This week 1 tune-up game goes very similarly to last year’s. A slow start offensively, but then they take off once Bucky commits to the run. 

Week 2 – South Dakota at Wisconsin 

Saturday Sept 7th – 2:30 PM

Line: TBD

Prediction: Win – Wisco 31, South Dakota 10

South Dakota is the 5th ranked FCS team in the country. That would make them just a tiny bit better than Western Michigan. This game will never feel close.

Week 3 – 5 Alabama at Wisconsin 

Saturday Sept 14th – 11:00 AM

Line: Alabama -9.5

Prediction: Loss – Alabama 28, Wisco 20

Wisconsin covers the 9.5, but Alabama is just too good. Unless Tyler Van Dyke is the next Russ, I don’t see Wisconsin pulling the upset here. Side note – It’s a tragedy that this game is at 11:00 AM. 

Week 4 – OFF

Week 5 –

…

What do you know about Wisconsin’s Offense? Will Pauling is WR1. The OL has a rock-solid top 6. And there is a new Quarterback in Mad Town… again. 

Coaching Changes

Phil Longo is still the OC, but there were 2 major changes to his support staff.  

O-Line

Jack Bicknell Jr. followed Phil Longo to Madison from North Carolina. He was the O-Line coach in 2023 but has been reassigned for the 2024 season. This can be seen as a demotion as far as I’m concerned. 

This means Wisconsin will have its 4th different O-Line coach in 4 seasons. Not exactly the stability of years past. 4th time’s the charm? AJ Blazek hopes so. He was an All-B1G Center playing for Iowa in 2000 and has been a career OL coach ever since. His 2 most recent stops have been with North Dakota State in 2019 and 2020, and Vanderbilt since 2021. Fickell likes his extensive coaching experience, recruiting familiarity in the B1G footprint, and his success at NDSU.

Side note – Leyton Nelson is a Vanderbilt LT transfer following Blazek to Wisconsin. He is injured for now but might be part of Wisconsin’s future plans at the position. 

Wide …

Training Camp is in full swing, but not in Madison. If YOU want to see the Badgers practice, where should you be, and when?

Minimizing Distractions

Luke Fickell made a change to training camp last offseason to “minimize distractions.” He took the team to UW-Platteville for the first week of training camp. The players stayed in the dorms, were served food by the school, and used the University’s facilities for practice and conditioning. 

Fickell was a fan of this “road trip” training camp during his time at Cincinnati. It builds team chemistry and accelerates integrating transfers into the locker room. But most importantly, it minimizes distractions. At an hour and 15 minutes from Madison, the players are sufficiently far enough away from the Madison party scene, their friends, and their girlfriends, that the only thing they can focus on is football.

Last year was considered such a success, the Badgers are doubling down in 2024. Instead of 1 week in Platteville, it’s 15 days this year. They left town on July 29 and won’t be back until August 12. The Badgers have committed to returning to Platteville for training camp for the next 3 seasons, so don’t expect …

How many new players are on the roster in 2024? What’s the positional breakdown of the new guys? Did the Badgers bring in more Freshmen or Transfers?

New Faces in Madison

There are 85 scholarships on an FBS football roster. How many of those 85 weren’t in Madison last year?

There are 2 categories of new guys here: Freshmen, and Transfers.

Let’s start with the ones who are unlikely to play, but are the future of the program: The Freshmen. Wisconsin brought in 22 scholarship freshmen in 2024. That’s pretty close to the pre-transfer portal standard of 25ish new freshmen per year. Wisconsin is sticking to traditional recruiting, even in the portal era. 

The breakdown by position. 

5 – Offensive Lineman
4 – Defensive Backs
3 – Running Backs 
3 – Linebackers
3 – Defensive Lineman
2 – Tight Ends
1 – Wide Receiver
1 – Quarterback

Wisconsin likes to handle the development of Offensive linemen themselves. They brought in 5 freshmen in 2024, and 5 freshmen in 2023. We’ll get to transfers shortly, but you’ll notice they only took one O-Lineman from the portal this year.

Running Back is also a position where the Badgers are quite …