Wisconsin Badgers open season; host Western Michigan on Friday

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 24: The Wisconsin Badgers logo on a uniform displayed during the 2024 Big Ten Media Days on July 24, 2024 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin seeks to improve to 16-0 in night games against unranked opponents at Camp Randall Stadium when the Badgers open their season by hosting Western Michigan on Friday, Aug 30.

Wisconsin is coming off back-to-back 7-6 seasons and enters a year unranked for the first time since 2016. That 2016 Wisconsin team went 11-3 and capped the year by beating Western Michigan in the Cotton Bowl. This marks the first time Wisconsin and Western Michigan have faced each other since that Cotton Bowl matchup.

Western Michigan went 4-8 last year and has a new offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator.

WHAT'S AT STAKE?

Wisconsin would love to show how far it has come, particularly on offense, after going 7-6 each of the last two seasons. Wisconsin is attempting to improve to 16-0 in night games at Camp Randall Stadium against unranked teams. Western Michigan is seeking to beat a Big Ten school for the first time since 2016, when the Broncos defeated both Northwestern and Illinois while putting together an undefeated regular season under current Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck. Western Michigan ended that season by losing to Wisconsin 24-16 in the Cotton Bowl, which represents the last meeting between these two teams.

KEY MATCHUP

Western Michigan's offensive line vs. Wisconsin's defensive line: Center Jacob Gideon and guard Addison West lead an offensive line that must avoid getting pushed around for the Broncos to have any chance of pulling the upset. Gideon has 35 career starts, and West has 24. Tedi Kushi also is back after making 10 starts last year. Wisconsin lost its most experienced defensive lineman when James Thompson Jr. underwent season-ending surgery for an upper-body injury.

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PLAYERS TO WATCH

Wisconsin: QB Tyler Van Dyke, who transferred from Miami, is trying to bounce back from a 2023 season in which he struggled with injuries and threw a career-high 12 interceptions. The Badgers would love to see Van Dyke recapture the form he showed in 2021, when he threw 25 touchdown passes with only six interceptions and was named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s rookie of the year.

Western Michigan: RB Jalen Buckley rushed for 1,003 yards and 10 touchdowns on 189 carries as a redshirt freshman last season. He was named the Mid-American Conference’s freshman of the year and earned third-team all-MAC honors.

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FACTS & FIGURES

Wisconsin is coming off back-to-back 7-6 seasons and enters the year outside the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2016. That 2016 team went 11-3 and capped the year with that Cotton Bowl triumph over Western Michigan. … Western Michigan has a new offensive coordinator (Walt Bell), defensive coordinator (Scott Power) and special teams coordinator (Dan Sabock) after going 4-8 last year in head coach Lance Taylor’s debut season. ... Western Michigan QB Hayden Wolff, who began his college career at Old Dominion, is working with his seventh different offensive coordinator in six seasons. … Wisconsin CB Ricardo Hallman had seven interceptions last season, tying Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts for the most by any Football Bowl Subdivision player.