No. 19 Wisconsin Football vs. Buffalo Bulls: Three Things to Watch For

We made it. It’s finally game week, folks. The Wisconsin football program’s 2023 season is only days away.

After an off-season for the ages, Wisconsin is ushering in a new era with Luke Fickell at the helm. Expectations are soaring, and UW will kick off non-conference play against the Buffalo Bulls.

Here are three things to watch for in the season opener.

How Will the Wisconsin Football Program’s Passing Game Look Under the Air Raid Scheme?

Gone are the days of the run, run, pass offense; it’s time for the air raid.

Phil Longo was arguably one of the biggest assistant coach hiring of the off-season. The former North Carolina offensive coordinator is bringing in a new style of play that would give Badger fans of yesteryear a heart attack. 

The only glimpse fans have seen of the new scheme was at “The Launch,” but we won’t harp on that performance. Instead, we’ll look for Tanner Mordecai and his receiving corps to provide a little look into what to expect.

Chimere Dike, Will Pauling, and Bryson Green will make for one heck of a pass-catching group, and they’ll undoubtedly be a group to watch in the season opener.

How Will Wisconsin Football RB Braelon Allen Fare Under a Spread-Out Offense?

When talking about the air raid, the focus is always on the passing game. However, that shouldn’t overshadow how much the new scheme will benefit Braelon Allen.

Allen has run into stacked boxes for his first two years with Wisconsin, but he still found a way to excel. According to Pro Football Focus, Allen rushed for over 800 yards against 8+ man boxes in 2022, the most of any running back in the entire nation. Now that he’ll face fewer defenders in the box, Allen could be looking at a breakout year. 

We may finally see our first glimpse of Allen’s full potential in the season opener. He’ll be able to get downhill much quicker and will have a full head of steam when he hits the second level. Be on the lookout for Allen to have a solid stat line in week one. 

How Will Mike Tressel’s New Defense Look?

One of the more significant shakeups of the offseason was the departure of Jim Leonhard. It’s going to be difficult to replicate his success, considering the UW legend earned a top-10 scoring defense four times in six years as defensive coordinator. However, there’s a lot to be excited about with Mike Tressel‘s defense.

The former Cincinnati defensive coordinator runs a 3-3-5 scheme, a bit of a shakeup from the 3-4 scheme under Jim Leonhard. Tressel’s alignment provides more protection in the A-gap but sacrifices coverage in the B-gap. However, with more linebackers and safeties in the box, the Badgers shouldn’t have a problem slowing down Buffalo’s running backs.

Buffalo will lean heavily on the run game in the season opener as they return their running back tandem of Mike Washington and Ron Cook Jr. UW has historically fared well against the run, but with the loss of Keeanu Benton and Nick Herbig, it will be worth watching how the revamped front seven looks.