A tough opening act awaits the rebuilding Broncos.
Lance Taylor’s Broncos start their 2024 campaign against Luke Fickell and a Wisconsin program that is looking to shake off the reins of being above-average in a new-look Big 10.
There is little expectation for Western Michigan to pull off the upset here, so the real question is: can they hold firm? Let’s take a look.
Game Info:
- Date and time: Friday, August 30, 2023 at 8 p.m. Central time
- Location: Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
- Weather: Forecasted to be in the low 80s Fahrenheit and sunny at start, with decreasing temperatures throughout.
- Gambling considerations: Line is Wisconsin at -23.5. Over/under is set at 55.5.
How to watch/stream/listen:
- TV options: The game will be available on FS1. Check your local network schedules for availability. Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Devin Gardner (color) will provide commentary.
- Streaming options: The game will be available via the Fox Sports App. A valid subscription is required for viewing. Other applicable cable/satellite streaming services are also available with a valid subscription. Other streaming carriers include Sling, DirecTV Stream, fuboTV, Hulu Live TV, or YouTube TV.
- Radio options: Robin Hook (play-by-play) will provide the WMU call for Jack 106.5 FM.
Western Michigan is returning a lot of the same cast from the last movie, which is good for the Broncos.
Hayden Wolff is Western’s starting quarterback, fully taking over the job he split with Jack Salopek and Treyson Bourget last year after a campaign which saw the former Old Dominion Monarch toss the ball for 1,505 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions on a 65 percent completion rating in eight appearances. This week will be the big first step to see if he can build off last year’s successful partial performance in his first year in the big chair.
The most exciting part about this Bronco offense, however, is the return of one of the conference’s most sturdy running games, including their 1,000-yard rusher in Jalen Buckley, who won MAC Freshman of the Year honors for his efforts. Buckley and the Western offensive line— which has two all-MAC starters returning to the fold— will be going up against the Badgers’ defensive line, the most uncertain position group on that program’s roster. Wisconsin will be without projected starter James Thompson Jr., who has been ruled out indefinitely with an upper body injury suffered in the lead up to the season, which has the potential to impact the war in the trenches.
Another source of hope for the Broncos’ chances is the flurry of incoming defensive transfers that they got this year, hoping to bolster a very weak defensive unit.
The Broncos will bring back proven veteran returnees Da’Shon Bussell and Bilhal Kone (who led the team in pass break-ups in 2023), while former Tennessee Tech defensive back Nyquann Washington arrives in Kalamazoo after a three-season stint which saw him total 75 tackles, an interception and 11 passes broken up. Tate Hallock and Aaron Wofford, the team’s two leading tacklers in 2023, also return at safety to give the Badgers a tough fight.
They’ll have to go up against a motivated Tyler Van Dyke, who was recently voted third-best among Big 10 quarterbacks by Pro Football Focus after transferring in from the University of Miami.
Van Dyke arrives in Madison ready to prove himself a tumultuous 2023 campaign with the Hurricanes, where he finished with 2,703 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Despite what the betting lines say the talent gap will be between these two programs, it doesn’t feel fair to judge whether these were top gets after one game against a Big 10 team. The defensive project will be a season-long watch in the second installment of the Western Michigan rebuilding program.
While the cast of last year is largely returning and some hopeful new additions on the roster, the same cannot be said for the crew of Broncos II: The Broncoing.
Lance Taylor completely shuffled the deck in the offseason, stacking Western Michigan top-to-bottom with new coaching hires, including the replacement of both the offensive and defensive coordinators and many new position coaches. Walt Bell, former UMass head coach, takes over the Broncos offense after a stint as OC under Tom Allen in Indiana, while former Louisiana Tech DC Scott Power took over defensive coordinator duties late spring, giving the Broncos a completely fresh slate to build from.
Hopefully, they can pick up on the positive aspects of last year’s run—namely, the running game—and adjust the aspects that didn’t work so well, especially defensively.
The MAC has only gone one season (2023) without a win over the Big 10 in the last two decades, but of the three MAC-Big 10 games this week, I don’t think this is the one that restarts the streak.
Western Michigan has too many kinks to work out first, and Wisconsin’s uncertainty at some positions will be more than made up for by Tyler Van Dyke. But, I could be completely wrong. Maybe the new coaches come up with a strategy that catches the Badgers off guard and keeps it close. That’s probably the best case scenario here.