Wisconsin Football: Three keys to a Badgers' victory over Western Michigan

The Badgers gear up for year two under head coach Luke Fickell as they welcome the Western Michigan Broncos of the Mid-American Conference to Madison.

BadgerBlitz.com breaks down its three keys to the when game the Badgers take the field against the Broncos.

When: Friday, Aug. 30 (8:00 P.M. CT)

Where: Camp Randall Stadium (capacity 76,118)

All-Time Series: Wisconsin leads, 4-1

TV: FS1 (Tim Brando on play-by-play, Devin Gardner as the analyst, Josh Sims as the sideline reporter).

Local Radio: Badger Sports Network (Matt Lepay on play-by-play, Mark Tauscher as the analyst, Patrick Herb as the sideline reporter)

Betting line: Wisconsin -24

Game-time weather: 71 degrees and overcast

FIRST READ: STIFLE WMU'S VETERAN OFFENSE WITH A VETERAN DEFENSE

Western Michigan's offense isn't necessarily bursting at the seams with elite playmakers. But the Broncos have grizzled veterans on that side of the ball, and while I wouldn't expect this team to torch anyone's defense, an experienced, cohesive offense is one of the best things they have going for them.

Quarterback Hayden Wolff is a redshirt senior. The top three receivers, all of whom return from last season, are all at least fourth-year players. The entire starting offensive line are all at least fifth-year players. The top wideout Kenny Womack is a graduate student. The top tight end Blake Bosma has four years of college under his belt.

Now, age isn't everything, especially when you're a severely overmatched team playing in Camp Randall Stadium at night. But the collective experience on Western Michigan's offense should help them settle in early and in theory limit their potential for mistakes. Last season, the Broncos played both Iowa and Syracuse on the road in the non-conference slate. They know what it's like to walk into a raucous Big Ten environment.

Wisconsin's defense, however, is equally seasoned. Players like Hunter Wohler, Jake Chaney, Ricardo Hallman and Darryl Peterson are all battle-hardened vets. The lights shouldn't be too bright for Western Michigan, but the Badgers just may be too hungry.

SECOND READ: UNLEASH PHIL LONGO'S SHINY NEW TOYS

Phil Longo's offense is one of the more hot-button issues in the state of Wisconsin. And rightfully so — his scheme has serious pedigree and results, but failed to live up to the lofty expectations set for itself in year one. Many wonder if Longo can do with Tyler Van Dyke what he couldn't do with Tanner Mordecai: take an experienced transfer quarterback and tailor them to his system to author a successful offense. And while the signal-caller is undoubtably a huge part of the equation, I believe the performance of the surrounding skill players has more significance for the success of this offense.

Last season, many of the Badgers skill players stuck out like a sore thumb in Longo's scheme. Take Chimere Dike, for example. Indubitably a talented receiver, otherwise he wouldn't be starting for Florida this fall. Still, as a possession-style wideout without elite speed or elusiveness, his ceiling and impact was severely limited in Longo's offense. Or how about Skyler Bell? Again, a good player who certainly had his moments. And yet, there's a reason why he's starting for UConn this fall, while the freaky-athletic Trech Kekahuna is slated to replace him as the second slot option.

Not only does Longo have new weapons to use in Kekahuna, Tawee Walker and a handful of promising true freshman, but the coaching staff appears much more familiar with the strengths of the incumbents on the roster. That's why Vinny Anthony, with his electrifying speed, nabbed a starting spot on the initial two-deep.

It would obviously behoove the Badgers if Van Dyke was an utter revelation this fall. If he poured on the stats on the way to an NFL Draft-caliber season, Wisconsin would be in great shape. Nonetheless, that doesn't need to happen for this offense to be successful. If Van Dyke can play like an unselfish point guard, setting the pace and calmly distributing the ball to a bevy of improved playmakers, this unit should be just fine.

THIRD READ: SORT OUT THE DEFENSIVE LINE ROTATION

This is a key to not only this game, but the rest of the season. It's not quite time to hit the panic button with this defensive line, but when an already suspect group loses its top and most-proven option, its fair to question what this unit will look like.

James Thompson Jr.'s significant injury that's expected to sideline him for four to five months leaves a gaping hole in an already permeable defensive front. The two starters on Wisconsin's opening two-deep, Curt Neal and Ben Barten, have experience but almost no production to speak of. Defensive line coach EJ Whitlow has already talked about rotating players frequently, but that figures to be even more prevalent without Thompson.

“To be honest with you, through fall camp, I would say we were going to go six-deep with the d-line. And I really did believe that that was a group that had made a lot of improvements, I thought, from last year, and our ability to say, ‘Hey, we can go six deep.’ So Brandon Lane will definitely be a guy that you will see. How much time? We'll see. And then Dillan Johnson is, for sure, a true freshman that's going to play. How much? We'll see," Fickell said. "Right now, I think we're planning on playing five, and there's still a couple other guys that you would say, ‘Hey, we'll see in those first couple weeks if we need them, you know they're there.’"

Friday night will be an excellent time to tinker with the defensive line rotations, especially if the Badgers go up big. So will the following week against FCS South Dakota. But it better be sorted out after Week 2 with the mighty Crimson Tide on the horizon.

STAFF PREDICTIONS

STAFF WRITER SEAMUS ROHRER

Last season's opener for Wisconsin was all about hype. This year, I expect it to be about hunger. The veteran leaders of this team are tired of the mediocrity of recent seasons, and the overmatched Broncos are walking into a house of horrors Friday night. The Badgers will make some token Week 1 mistakes, but comfortably manhandle Western Michigan for a much more inspiring season-opening win.

Wisconsin 42, Western Michigan 10

STAFF WRITER DONNIE SLUSHER

Given the anticipation and spectacle of a Friday night lights season opener, I predict a somewhat jittery performance early, especially from the offense. Fans will go crazy for about an hour on social media and in message boards, then the Badgers will settle down and the better team will win out in the end.

Wisconsin 35, Western Michigan 12