The Wisconsin Badgers won their first game of the season on Friday night, defeating the Western Michigan Broncos 28-14 in the season opener at Camp Randall Stadium to move to 1-0 on the year.

Although the Badgers were expected to win by 24 points, it was anything but a walk in the park. Wisconsin trailed 14-13 early in the fourth quarter, but the team eventually came back with two touchdowns to secure a double-digit victory.

But given the way the match unfolded, the question arises: were there more positives or concerns from Week 1?

Here are three quick takeaways from the Badgers’ 28-14 win over Western Michigan.

Lack of explosives

The Badgers really struggled to create explosive plays on Friday despite playing against a Western Michigan defense that ranked 89th in the nation in 2023 and allowed more than 400 yards per game.

Wisconsin had zero passing plays of more than 20 yards, and no run plays of more than 15 yards. Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke averaged just 5.3 yards per pass attempt.

Last season, a lack of explosives was a recurring problem for Wisconsin’s offense as they failed to move the ball forward despite implementing offensive coordinator Phil Longo’s “Air Raid” system.

While the offense looked better in the fall when the Badgers operated with more rushing plays, Wisconsin looked like their inconsistent 2023 offense for much of the night, leading to a much closer game against Western Michigan than expected.

If Wisconsin wants to compete in the new Big Ten, they need to find a way to create more explosive plays, especially through the air. Otherwise, teams will focus on their run game and challenge the offense to throw the ball downfield, which could be a concern as the season progresses.

Van Dyke has the talent to finish those plays and there were several opportunities where the receivers were free in the field, but both sides will need to be on the same page if Wisconsin wants to create a consistent downfield offense in 2024.

A more surprising finding was the lack of explosiveness in the run game, as the Badgers averaged 4.6 per carry but failed to muster 15+ yard rushes on Friday. Against stronger defenses, Wisconsin will face much greater challenges in the run game, but there will be a greater emphasis on the passing game.

The offensive line and running backs need to get better at matching up, as it didn’t seem like the holes in the run game were really there to be exploited. We’ll see how that improves going forward.

Struggles in the Red Zone

The Badgers’ lack of efficiency in the red zone was a major concern in 2023, as they were unable to score enough touchdowns out of the shotgun when they got deep into opponents’ territory.

Those issues continued into Week 1 as Wisconsin scored just one touchdown on one of their first four drives despite reaching the red zone on every opportunity.

Wisconsin had 16, 16, 14 and 14-play drives in its first four chances, scoring three field goals and one touchdown, with kicker Nathanial Vakos missing one of the field goal attempts from 36 yards.

The Badgers took a similar approach to last year, with their shotgun approach in the red zone, and had similar results. That’s not a good sign against Western Michigan.

Wisconsin scored touchdowns on their final two red zone drives, bringing their touchdown percentage to 50 percent. Those drives were the deciding factors in the game, as the Badgers went from a 14-13 deficit to a 28-14 lead in the fourth quarter.

On the other hand, the Badgers defense gave up two red zone touchdowns on two chances to Western Michigan, with the early run defense issues being the key lesson learned during those drives.

However, Wisconsin’s defense limited Western Michigan outside those boundaries, missing a field goal from the Wisconsin 31-yard line and causing a turnover on downs near midfield.

Run game

Both offenses struggled for parts of the game, but running was the story on both sides of the ball.

Wisconsin gave top backs Tawee Walker, who was the starter, and Chez Mellusi a heavy workload. The former had 66 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, while the latter had 74 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

While neither had many explosive plays (Mellusi had the longest with an 11-yard rush), the duo tried to move the chain by slowly gaining yards, though there were some short gains as well.

Still, Wisconsin clearly had the most confidence in their run game in Week 1, as they ran for 196 yards on 46 carries, though some of that came toward the end of the game.

That seems to be their strongest point and they will need to let their top two running backs shine if this is to be their style of play going forward.

On the other hand, Wisconsin’s defensive line struggled with Western Michigan’s offense, especially star back Jalen Buckley.

Buckley, rotating with a plethora of backs, rushed for 64 yards and two touchdowns that day. He had to fight for much of his yards as the Badgers sold out to the run without a consistent passing attack from the Broncos.

There were definitely times, however, when the Badgers defensive line struggled to hold its ground at the line of scrimmage, and that’s something to keep an eye on going forward.

Despite this, the Badgers secured a 28-14 victory in Week 1 over the Western Michigan Broncos and now set their sights on South Dakota in Week 2, next Saturday!