Fans will get their first look at quarterback John Stocco and the 2004 Badgers as UW opens the season against the Golden Knights of Central Florida in the newly renovated Camp Randall Stadium Saturday.

“We’re really excited,” linebacker LaMarr Watkins said. “It’s going to be really exciting just to be able to walk out the tunnel through the crowd, be able to run down the tunnel to the band and just get that first burst of excitement. It’s always an exciting time.”

The Knights will be without the services of head coach George O’Leary, who will be missing the game in order to attend his mother’s funeral. Linebacker coach and special teams coordinator Dave Huxtable will step in as the interim head coach in O’Leary’s absence.

“I have an experienced staff,” O’Leary said. “It’s not like I’m leaving them with a bunch of rookies.”

Though the Knights are coming off a disappointing 3-9 campaign in 2003 and have never defeated a Big Ten opponent, the Badgers recognize the importance of taking every team seriously.

“We can’t overlook anything,” Stocco said. “We have to go in with the mindset that it is going to wear us out and we do have to bust their ass. Our new motto is 1-0. We have to focus on what’s important right now. We can’t look down the road. We have to do what’s important now and right now it’s beating Central Florida.”

For Stocco, the opener is a chance to establish himself in his first season as the Badgers’ starting signal-caller.

“It’s my first real chance to prove what I can do to everyone, my teammates, coaches and everyone, when it really matters.” Stocco said.

Stocco’s counterpart, Central Florida quarterback Steven Moffett, will also look to make a statement in his first season as the regular starter under center. Moffett started the last three games of the 2003 campaign but registered only 168 yards in the three contests.

The sophomore is considered a threat to run as well as pass, though in his first start last season he ran 12 times for -1 yards. After the inauspicious start, Moffett finished with 34 carries for 80 yards on the year. Despite Moffett’s sub-par statistics, UW head coach Barry Alvarez has prepared his team for the sophomore’s versatility.

“You see a multitalented quarterback, a quarterback that can beat with you with his hands, with his arm, and with his feet.” Alvarez said.

The Central Florida passing attack features a deep receiving corps that returns the top six receivers from last season. Seniors Tavaris Capers and Luther Huggins headline the veteran group, which will look to take the pressure off of first-year starter Moffett. Capers led the Knights in receptions (67), yards (585) and touchdowns (7) in a solid 2003 campaign.

Like the rest of the Central Florida offense, the receivers will look to utilize their speed against the veteran Badger secondary.

“As I study the personnel that is returning from last year’s team, I see speed, which you would expect from a Florida team.” Alvarez said.

Central Florida will turn to Moffett and running back Alex Haynes to resurrect an offense that ranked 12th out of the 14 teams in the MAC in scoring (18.7 points per game) last season. In 2003, opponents out-scored Central Florida by an average of 12.4 points per game.

One of the lone bright spots for the Knights last season, Haynes led the team with 774 rushing yards. The senior tailback, who needs just 630 yards to become Central Florida’s all-time leading rusher, is second among active players in the MAC with 2,502 career rushing yards. Haynes and UW standout Anthony Davis were each selected to the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker award, which recognizes the top running back in the NCAA.

Despite a strong performance from Haynes, Central Florida ranked 13th in the MAC in rushing last season (97.9 yards per game). By contrast, the Badgers finished third in the Big Ten with 177 rushing yards per game in 2003 despite playing without the injured Davis for much of the season.

Running behind the only offensive line in the Big Ten with multiple Outland trophy watch-list selections, Davis will be a major factor every Saturday. A preseason All-America selection, Davis will look to make a statement against a Central Florida defense that allowed 191.9 rushing yards per game last season.

The Golden Knights will need a strong performance from their unheralded defense in order to prevent Davis from breaking the game open early. Last season, a pair of safeties led the Knights in tackles, exposing the ineffectiveness of the squad’s linebackers and defensive line.

Strong safety Atari Bigby, a two-time All-MAC selection who recorded 112 tackles last season, and free safety Peter Sands, who led the Knights with 113 tackles in 2003, will be crucial in containing the UW passing attack. It will be a long day for Central Florida if the secondary sees too much of Davis.

Charged with containing the Central Florida running game, the untested UW linebackers will look to prove themselves in the opener. Though the unit earned a combined total of just three starts in 2003, the determined group is confident it can silence the critics with a strong performance against the Knights.

“I think we all need to go out there and prove ourselves in the first game and let everybody know that we can handle ourselves and we’re as good as anybody else out there,” Watkins said. “We’re trying to be the best linebacking corps in the Big Ten, in the nation at that. We just need to go out there, make the tackles we need to make, make the plays we need to make, and, you know, I think we’ll be alright.”

In the secondary, the Badgers will turn to free safety Jim Leonhard and cornerback Scott Starks to shut down the Golden Knights’ passing attack. Leonhard, who needs just three interceptions to match Jamar Fletcher’s school record of 21, has led the Big Ten in interceptions in each of the past two seasons.

Leonhard and the UW defensive corps hope to come out strong against an unimposing Central Florida squad.

“I guess we’re looking for a statement, and that’s a W,” defensive coordinator Bret Bielema said. “Anything that we need do to get a W, we’ll get it done. What are we going to do? We’re going to do whatever we need to do to get a W.”

Saturday’s game carries added significance for the Badgers, as Alvarez goes for his milestone 100th victory.

“Everyone has a great love for Coach Alvarez and what he’s done here and a great respect for him,” Leonhard said. “He is the main reason why most of us are here. Any time you step on that field, you know you’re representing him, you’re representing this university, so it’s a great feeling.”