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    • Wisconsin football vs Western Michigan live game, score updates today
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    Wisconsin football vs Western Michigan live game, score updates today

    Vaseline Posted on

    Welcome to the 2024 season, Wisconsin Badgers fans! The Badgers host Western Michigan under the lights at Camp Randall Stadium to get things going in a rare Friday night game.

    We’ll have live coverage within this file throughout the Badgers-Broncos game. Be sure to refresh your browser for the latest updates.

    Team First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter FINAL SCORE
    WIS 0 — — — 0
    WM 0 — — — 0

    Wisconsin, facing 4th and 1 at its own 40, keeps the offense on the field and gives the ball to Tawee Walker, who has more than enough to keep the series going.

    Tawee Walker, the transfer from Oklahoma, is the star of the first series and records Wisconsin’s initial first down of the season. After a short rush, he caught Tyler Van Dyke’s first pass attempt for 8 yards, then gained another 5 to move the chains.

    Walker actually catches Van Dyke’s second pass, too, a safety-valve connection for about three yards.

    Jalen Buckley rushes for 2 yards on first down, tackled by Ben Barten and Darryl Peterson, and then Buckley can’t handle a swing pass on second down that glances off his hands. Jaheim Thomas easily cleans up a rush from quarterback Hayden Wolff when he didn’t have any options deep. It’s a three-and-out, and the Badgers get the ball back quickly with 13:30 on the first-quarter clock.

    UW takes over at the 19-yard line.

    Wisconsin won the toss and deferred to the second half, and kickoff specialist Gavin Lahm sent the kickoff into the end zone. There’s no modified kickoff here in college just yet; you’ll have to wait for that until the NFL season opener next week.

    Western Michigan takes it at the 25 and we’re off!

    Few players have endured the lengthy list of injuries that Aaron Witt has faced in his career, but he’s stuck with football at Wisconsin and still has tantalizing potential. The outside linebacker is healthy and warming up with the first-team defense before this game, so it appears we’ll see him tonight.

    Western Michigan won’t have its best receiver tonight; Kenneth Womack, who led the team in receptions and receiving yards last year, has a broken hand and is out. He was a a first-team All Conference pick in the MAC last year. That’s obviously a big loss for a team that’s already the heavy underdog.

    Joseph Griffin Jr., a wide receiver transfer to Wisconsin from Boston College, is also not suited up tonight even though he’s not on the injury report.

    It’s always fun to keep an eye on newcomers with the Badgers, and none will be more high profile than starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke. But here are five other players I’m fascinated to see in a Badgers uniform tonight

    • Wide receiver Trech Kekahuna. He’s not strictly a newcomer, given that he saw some action last year at the end of the season during his true freshman season. But he didn’t lose his redshirt and still has freshman eligibility, and all indications are that he will be a major additive to the passing game. He also just changed his number from No. 12 to No. 2; high-profile switch! Nyzier Fourqurean went from No. 10 to No. 3, by the way.
    • Running back Tawee Walker. The running back situation remains a little bit of a mystery, even though it seems pretty obvious that Chez Mellusi and Oklahoma transfer Tawee Walker will be the “thunder the lightning” early. Walker played at times in camp like a No. 1 back, and though Mellusi is obviously the elder statesman and a guy who’s triumphed over injury, the distribution of carries between those guys interests me. Where does Jackson Acker fit in? Where do exciting freshmen Darion Dupree and Dillin Jones fit in as the season progresses?
    • Inside linebacker Jaheim Thomas. The Auburn transfer spent most of his college career playing with Luke Fickell and Cincinnati, so I don’t expect it’ll take long for Thomas to make an impact. I suspect he won’t be hard to miss out there.
    • Outside linebacker John Pius. He wears No. 0 so I suspect he’ll also be easy to find. The William and Mary transfer is leveling up this year and is atop the depth chart at outside linebacker.
    • Punt returner Tyrell Henry. The late-arriving transfer from Michigan State isn’t likely to get many opportunities early as a receiver, but he’s got a lot of special-teams experience at his previous stop. The Badgers haven’t always been all that dynamic in the return game lately, and this could be a welcome change of pace.

    There aren’t really any surprises on the injury report for Week 1, with a handful of players who have been battling camp injuries.

    They are:

    • Quincy Burroughs, wide receiver
    • Thomas Heiberger, outside linebacker
    • Leyton Nelson, defensive lineman
    • Barrett Nelson, tackle
    • Rob Booker, tight end
    • James Thompson Jr., defensive lineman

    Second-string right tackle Barrett Nelson is perhaps the biggest surprise if there is one, since he had been available for the last Badgers practice before the game.

    Heiberger, a true freshman, had been one of the eye-opening newcomers in camp but he’s been sidelined for a while.

    There are no players listed as “questionable.”

    Beer is available in the coolers at Camp Randall Stadium, where alcohol is for sale in the general seating areas for the first time. Prior to 2024, Wisconsin was one of just three Big Ten schools who didn’t sell alcohol to the general public at football games.

    You may be coming into this game knowing very little about Western Michigan, given that they’re picked to finish seventh in the MAC and, under normal circumstances for a power-conference program, should probably be a relatively easy hurdle to clear.

    The caution comes in the bevy of returnees they have, including their five eligible all-conference selections. That includes running back Jalen Buckley, a redshirt freshman who cleared 1,000 yards last year.

    Under center is redshirt senior Hayden Wolff, a big quarterback (6-5, 235), who wasn’t the full-time starter until the final five weeks of the season last year. And when he played, he performed. On the metric of passing yards per game, he’s the No. 2 returnee in the conference.

    The Broncos have four Wisconsinites on their roster, and they’re all among the big fellas:

    • Redshirt junior offensive lineman Cole Muraski (Bay Port)
    • Redshirt senior offensive tackle Adam Vandervest (Verona)
    • Redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Chad Schuster (Franklin)
    • Junior defensive lineman Marcel Tyler (Racine St. Catherine)

    Muraski is listed as the No. 2 left tackle on the two-deep, with Schuster No. 2 at right guard and Tyler at No. 2 at defensive tackle. Vandervest started one game last season (at right tackle) and played in nine games overall. Tyler played in every game last season and recorded six tackles.

    • Date: Friday, Aug. 30
    • Time: 8 p.m

    Wisconsin plays the first of two Friday games on its season in Week 1. The regular-season finale against Minnesota is also a Friday game.

    • TV Channel: FS1
    • Live stream: Fox Sports App with your TV provider; DirecTV Stream, FuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, YouTube TV and Vidgo TV, Fubo (free trial for new subscribers).

    Channel 75 in Milwaukee.

    Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday afternoon

    • Spread: Wisconsin (-24)
    • Moneyline: Wisconsin (-2800); Western Michigan (+1300)
    • Over/under: 57

    Tyler Van Dyke takes over the Badgers’ starting quarterback job after four years with the Miami Hurricanes.

    He brings a lot of experience to Madison, having started the last three seasons. He won ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2021, in his redshirt freshman season. Miami finished 7-5 that season.

    He transferred to Wisconsin in December after Miami’s 2023 season ended and then won the starting job over the returning Braedyn Locke, who started three games last year when Tanner Mordecai was injured. 

    2023 (redshirt junior): 219 for 333 (65.8%), 2,703 yards, 19 touchdowns, 12 interceptions

    2022 (redshirt sophomore): 160 for 253 (63.2%), 1,844 yards, 10 touchdowns, five interceptions

    2021 (redshirt freshman): 202 for 324 (62.3%), 2,931 yards, 25 touchdowns, six interceptions

    2020: 0 for 2 in two games before redshirting

    Will Luke Fickell’s squad begin the season 1-0? Our Badgers football beat reporters believe so, though they’re split on if the Badgers will cover the 24-point spread.

    Mark Stewart: Wisconsin 40, Western Michigan 14

    JR Radcliffe: Wisconsin: 30, Western Michigan 10

    Read more on their predictions here.

    Homegrown Badgers: A look at the Milwaukee-area products on the Wisconsin football roster

    Injury update: How the Wisconsin defensive line will look without James Thompson

    Wisconsin’s opponents: A look at the best players the Badgers will face in 2024

    Q&A: Get to know Wisconsin Badgers reporter Mark Stewart

    New hire: Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell hires former NFL head coach Jack Del Rio as senior adviser

    It’s been a couple years since Jim Leonhard was the Badgers’ interim head coach.

    But Wisconsin football fans are always interested in where the former Badgers All-American, defensive coordinator and coach is these days.

    After spending one season as a senior football analyst for Bret Bielema and Illinois in 2023, Leonhard is now in the NFL as a defensive pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach for the Denver Broncos.

    *Editor’s Note: Player listed first is the projected starter*

    Wisconsin football offense

    Quarterback

    • Tyler Van Dyke, 6-4, 225, sr.
    • Braedyn Locke, 6-1, 205, r-soph.

    Running back

    • Chez Mellusi, 5-11, 212, grad student
    • Tawee Walker, 5-9, 218, sr.

    Receiver

    • Bryson Green, 6-3, 213, sr.
    • Chris Brooks, 6-2, 218, r-soph.

    Receiver

    • Vinny Anthony II, 6-0, 188, jr. or CJ Williams, 6-2, 196, jr.
    • Quincy Burroughs, 6-2, 212, r-soph.

    Slot recever

    • Will Pauling, 5-10, 187, r-jr.
    • Trech Kekahuna, 5-10, 197, r-fr.

    Tight end

    • Riley Nowakowski, 6-1, 243, r-sr.
    • Tucker Ashcraft, 6-5, 255, soph.

    Left tackle

    • Jack Nelson, 6-7, 316, sr.
    • Barett Nelson, 6-6, 3-2 r-soph.

    Left guard

    • Joe Brunner, 6-5, 313- r-soph.
    • James Durand, 6-5, 305, r-fr.

    Center

    • Jake Renfro, 6-3, 302, r-sr.
    • Kerry Kodanko, 6-2, 308, r-sr.

    Right guard

    • Joe Huber, 6-5, 310, r-sr.
    • JP Benzschawel, 6-6, 312, r-jr.

    Right tackle

    • Riley Mahlman, 6-8, 308, r-jr.
    • Kevin Heywood, 6-8, 325, fr.

    Wisconsin football defense

    Line

    • Ben Barten, 6-5, 308, r-sr.
    • Elijah Hills, 6-3, 282, sr.

    Line

    • Curt Neal, 6-0, 290, r-soph.
    • Cade McDonald, 6-6, 285, r-sr.

    Outside linebacker

    • Darryl Peterson, 6-1, 248, r-jr.
    • Aaron Witt, 6-6, 247, r-jr.

    Inside linebacker

    • Jake Chaney, 5-11, 233, sr.
    • Tackett Curtis, 6-2, 228, soph.

    Inside linebacker

    • Jaheim Thomas, 6-4, 245, r-sr.
    • Christian Alliegro, 6-4, 240, soph.

    Outside linebacker

    • John Pius, 6-4, 250, r-sr. or Leon Lowery, 6-3, 252, r-sr.
    • Sebastian Cheeks, 6-3, 233, r-soph.

    Cornerback

    • Ricardo Hallman, 5-10, 185, r-jr.
    • Jonas Duclona, 5-10, 190, soph. or R.J. Delancy III, 5-11, 193, r-sr.

    Strong safety

    • Hunter Wohler, 6-2, 218, sr.
    • Austin Brown, 6-1, 210, jr.

    Free safety

    • Preston Zachman, 6-1, 212, r-sr.
    • Kamo’i Latu, 6-0, 196, sr.

    Cornerback

    • Nyzier Fourqurean, 6-1, 190, r-sr.
    • R.J. Delancy, 5-11, 193, r-sr. or Xavier Lucas, 6-2, 198, fr.

    Nickelback

    • Max Lofy, 5-10, 188, r-sr.
    • Owen Arnett, 5-11, 208, r-jr.

    Wisconsin football special teams

    Punter

    • Atticus Bertrams, 6-2, 225, soph.
    • Gavin Meyers, 6-1, 198, r-sr.

    Field goal kicker

    • Nathanial Vakos, 6-1, 205, jr.
    • Gavin Lahm, 6-0, 213, jr.

    Kickoff kicker

    • Gavin Lahm, 6-10, 213, jr.
    • Gianni Smith, 6-1, 220, r-sr

    Long snapper

    • Cayson Pfeiffer, 6-0, 205, sr.
    • Duncan McKinley, 6-2, 222, r-sr.

    Holder

    • Gavin Meyers, 6-1, 198, r-sr.
    • Atticus Bertrams, 6-2, 225, soph.

    Punt returner

    • Tyrell Henry, 6-0, 176, jr.
    • Trech Kekahuna, 5-10, 197, r-fr.

    Kickoff returner

    • Vinny Anthony II, 6-0, 188, jr.
    • Trech Kekahuna, 5-10, 197, r-fr.
    • Lehigh vs. Army: 5 p.m. CBS Sports Network
    • Temple vs Oklahoma: 6 p.m. ESPN
    • Florida Atlantic vs. Michigan State: 6 p.m. Big Ten Network
    • Elon vs. Duke: 6:30 p.m. ACC Network
    • Western Michigan vs. Wisconsin: 8 p.m. Fox Sports 1
    • TCU vs. Stanford: 9:30 p.m. ESPN

    All times Central.

    • Friday, Aug. 30: vs. Western Michigan | 8 p.m. | FS1 (Fubo)
    • Saturday, Sept. 7: vs. South Dakota | 2:30 p.m. | FS1 (Fubo)
    • Saturday, Sept. 14: vs. No. 5 Alabama | 11 a.m. | FOX (Fubo)
    • Saturday, Sept. 21: BYE
    • Saturday, Sept. 28: at No. 23 USC *
    • Saturday, Oct. 5: vs. Purdue *
    • Saturday, Oct. 12: at Rutgers *
    • Saturday, Oct. 19: at Northwestern *
    • Saturday, Oct. 26: vs. Penn State *
    • Saturday, Nov. 2: at Iowa *
    • Saturday, Nov. 9: BYE
    • Saturday, Nov. 16: vs. No. 3 Oregon *
    • Saturday, Nov. 23: at Nebraska *
    • Friday, Nov. 29: vs. Minnesota *
    • Saturday, Dec. 7: Big Ten Championship (Indianapolis)

    * Denotes Big Ten game

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