No. 19 Wisconsin, with new coach Luke Fickell, hosts Buffalo

The Luke Fickell period at Wisconsin kicks off when the Nineteenth-ranked Badgers host Buffalo in a non-conference recreation Saturday in Madison.

Fickell was employed away from Cincinnati, the place he went 57-18 in six seasons. In 2021, the 13-0 Bearcats turned the primary Group of 5 crew to succeed in the Faculty Soccer Playoff, the place they misplaced to Alabama within the semifinals.

Fickell replaces Paul Chryst, who was fired after a 2 -3 begin and changed on an interim foundation by widespread defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, a Wisconsin native who performed for the Badgers. Leonhard went 4-3 the remainder of the common season and was thought of by many to have the within monitor.

Fickell, who performed at Ohio State after which was a longtime assistant coach with the Buckeyes, spent a decade as this system’s defensive coordinator and was interim head coach in 2011.

“Week 1 is all the time extremely intriguing,” Fickell mentioned. “I believe clearly in 12 months 1, it is much more so. For me, for all of our gamers. … it is nearly like Christmas morning. You are making ready for lots of issues, lots of anxieties. You are enthusiastic about it, however but there’s lots of issues that you simply simply do not know from one another.”

Wisconsin, which defeated Oklahoma State 24-17 within the Assured Charge Bowl to shut final season, was tabbed to win the Massive Ten West within the convention preseason ballot, one level forward of Iowa.

Buffalo completed 5-3 within the Mid-American Convention East final season and 7-6 total, together with a 23-21 victory over Georgia Southern within the Camellia Bowl.

Quarterback is the largest change for the Badgers, the place redshirt senior switch Tanner Mordecai, a two-year starter at SMU, replaces three-year starter Graham Mertz, who transferred to Florida.

Mordecai, who started his profession at Oklahoma, threw 72 landing passes in his two seasons at SMU, finishing 66.4% of his passes with 22 interceptions.

Junior operating again Braelon Allen, a first-team all-conference preseason decide, groups with grad senior Chez Mellusi to energy the Badgers signature floor assault. Allen has rushed for two,510 yards and 23 touchdowns, averaging 6.0 yards per carry, in two seasons.

Allen may not be taking 25 handoffs per recreation in new offensive coordinator Phil Longo’s system. He arrived from North Carolina with an adaptation of the Air Raid offense anticipated to result in extra of an aerial show than Wisconsin has historically proven.

Senior Chimere Dike led the Badgers final season with 47 receptions for 689 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns, and the receiving corps was bolstered by transfers Bryson Inexperienced from Oklahoma State and CJ Williams from Southern California, together with Will Pauling and Quincy Burroughs from Cincinnati.

The protection shall be underneath coordinator Mike Tressel, who got here with Fickell from Cincinnati. Wisconsin allowed 20.2 factors and 303.5 yards per recreation final season.

Junior linebacker Maema Njongmeta, who led the Badgers final season with 95 tackles, together with 11.5 for loss, was a first-team preseason all-conference decide.

Heart Jake Renfro (foot), one other Cincy switch; tight finish Riley Nowakowski (foot); and defensive lineman Isaiah Mullens (knee) are anticipated to overlook the opener.

Buffalo’s offense is led by graduate scholar Cole Snyder, who started his profession at Rutgers. Snyder handed for 3,030 yards final season with 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions because the season-long starter for the Bulls.

Redshirt sophomore Mike Washington Jr. was the main rusher final season with 625 yards and 7 speeding touchdowns.

Senior linebacker Shaun Dolac, a first-team all-conference decide final season, led the nation final season with 97 solo tackles. Graduate scholar security Marcus Fuqua tied for many interceptions within the nation with seven and was a third-team AP All-American.

“A lot respect for his or her teaching employees. Coach Fickell, what he is been in a position to do, clearly at Cincinnati, taking a Group of 5 crew, I believe it was the primary Group of 5 crew to the Faculty Soccer Playoffs,” Buffalo coach Maurice Linguist mentioned on the crew’s media day.

“Performed extraordinarily properly, extraordinarily bodily. You see excessive draft picks from their movie at Cincinnati. After which actually a lot respect for the Wisconsin program in and of itself. It is a blueblood. Yearly, yr in and yr out, they’ll be a kind of prime 10, prime 15, prime 20-type applications.”

Wisconsin final performed Buffalo in 2006, successful 35-3 in Madison.

— Subject Degree Media