In their first game under new head coach Luke Fickell, the No. 19 University of Wisconsin football team (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) defeated Buffalo (0-1, 0-0 Mid-American) 38-17 Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.
In the first sell-out home opener since 2009, 76,224 fans traveled to Camp Randall Stadium to witness Fickell’s head coaching debut. The home opener was also the hottest game at Camp Randall according to the Fox Sports 1 broadcast, with temperatures reaching 91 degrees during the contest.
While Wisconsin head football coach Luke Fickell was able to walk away with a decisive victory in his first regular-season game leading the Badgers program, he felt his team could improve across all phases of the game.
“It wasn’t exactly the way we envisioned,” Fickell said during his postgame conference. “We stressed this entire week the ability to play clean, and I don’t know if that’s what we really did.”
Though the Badgers football staff looked to showcase their air-raid scheme under new offensive coordinator Phil Longo, it was the running back duo of Chez Mellusi and Braelon Allen who starred for the cardinal and white offense. The pair ran for a combined 298 yards and four touchdowns across 30 carries, led by Mellusi’s 89-yard barnburner touchdown in the third quarter. Allen also caught seven passes out of the backfield for 25 yards in the home opener.
UW quarterback Tanner Mordecai adjusted from two interceptions in his debut for Wisconsin and finished the game completing 24 of 31 passes for 181 yards and one touchdown. The sixth-year Southern Methodist University transfer showed glimpses of Longo’s air-raid scheme, throwing a highlight 29-yard touchdown pass to Chimere Dike in the second quarter.
It was a tale of two halves for the Wisconsin defense under new coordinator Mike Tressel. The Badgers defense struggled in the first half, allowing Buffalo to stay close. UW allowed 186 combined yards and 10 points. The cardinal and white bounced back after halftime and slowed the Bulls to 3.6 yards-per-play in the second half to secure the victory.
Hunter Wohler led the team with 11 tackles, including 10 solo tackles. Jordan Turner added seven tackles to the Badgers defense, but he was ejected from the game in the fourth quarter for targeting and will have to sit out the first half of next week’s game at Washington State.
University of Ohio transfer Nathanial Vakos converted 5-of-5 PATs and made a 37-yard field goal in his first game for Wisconsin.
The Badgers will travel to Pullman, Washington to take on Washington State in their second game of the year Saturday, Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m.
