It may have been too close, but a win is a win.

Tawee Walker scored the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter and Tyler Van Dyke scored again to lead the Badgers football team to a 28-14 victory over Western Michigan in Friday night’s season opener at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Badgers (1-0) found themselves in a tough spot after Jalen Buckley scored a 1-yard touchdown to give the Broncos (0-1) a 14-13 lead in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.

The Broncos held off the ball on the Badgers’ ensuing possession, but Wisconsin got lucky when Atticus Bertrams’ punt deflected off a Western Michigan player and the Badgers recovered the ball at the Broncos’ 20-yard line. Walker weaved through several defenders and scored from 6 yards out. Van Dyke found a two-point conversion off Trech Kekahuna, giving Wisconsin a 21-14 lead.

The Badgers’ defense held on Western Michigan’s ensuing possession, halting the drive by stopping Buckley for no gain on fourth-and-1. They proceeded to mount an eight-play, 50-yard touchdown drive capped by a 6-yard sprint by Van Dyke to make it 28-14.

The Badgers moved the ball early but came up empty-handed on their 16-play, 63-yard drive when Nathaniel Vakos missed his 37-yard field goal attempt. But the Badgers marched 93 yards down the field on their next drive, capped by a 9-yard touchdown run from Chez Mellusi.

It was a fairly even split in carries between Mellusi and Walker. Mellusi ran 19 times for 74 yards and a touchdown, while Walker had 15 carries for 66 yards and the score.

Cade Yacamelli had four carries for 35 yards.

Van Dyke completed 21 of 36 passes for 192 yards in his Badgers debut. He also ran the ball eight times for 21 yards and the score. He did lose a fumble, but otherwise executed a clean offense.

Western Michigan tied the game with a 16-play, 78-yard drive in the second quarter, which Buckley capped with a 1-yard touchdown run. Buckley led the Broncos offense with 16 carries for 64 yards and a pair of scores. Western Michigan had just 261 yards of total offense.

Vakos made a 33-yard field goal just before halftime to give the Badgers a 10-7 lead. His 23-yard boot on Wisconsin’s first drive of the third quarter made it 13-10. Palmer Domschke missed a 48-yard field goal on the Broncos’ next drive, and Van Dyke fumbled the ball, setting up Western Michigan’s go-ahead touchdown.

The Badgers return to action on September 7 when they host South Dakota, with the game starting at 2:30 p.m.