Western Michigan vs. Wisconsin Predictions & Bets Week 1 NCAA College Football 8/30/24

all right Western Michigan and Wisconsin also on Friday night Wisconsin Badgers 24-point own favorites 56 and a half being the total in this game I think Western Michigan's a dark horse in the Mac the question is can they step up here and be uh competitive as in within three touchdowns or so against uh Wisconsin here on the road Lance Taylor second season they do have new coordinators this year both sides of the football Western Michigan including an old familiar name Walt Bell he's been around the block as an OC in college football many different teams he's now the offensive coordinator here with the uh Western Michigan Broncos normally known for being a guy that'll play some Tempo guy that'll you know be willing to throw the football and Chuck it down the field it'll be interesting to see if he sticks to those similar principles this season here with Western Michigan Hayden wolf is back at the quarterback spot this the guy that started his career at Old Dominion in fact you remember remember when Ricky Ronnie took over at Old Dominion uh that first year they had a good year the first year with him there and Hayden wolf was his quarterback he actually played pretty well he's not a bad quarterback he's I think he'll be solid here for West uh Western Michigan this year they have four starters back on the o line Jaylen Buckley they're great running back who had over a thousand yards rushing last year is back Kenneth wack an outstanding receiver returns uh their offense sputtered a bit last year uh but that offense definitely with four starters back experienced quarterback and Hayden wolf I think Western Michigan will definitely improve as far as putting up points defense has to get better uh 33 points per game allowed last year six starters are back on that defensive side of the football you know Wisconsin's an interesting case they went to Phil Longo as the OC when Luke fickle took over as head coach and Luke vickle tried last year to turn them CAC I remember we talked about this a lot run ground and pound bully ball run the football heavy to all of a sudden spread and throw it more and go up Tempo and to me it looked like a bit of a miss fit last year for Wisconsin that offense never really clicked and when you think about it last year that was with Tanner morai who came in as the quarterback from SMU very experienced and yet they still really couldn't get that offense rolling and fired up on all cylinders so it's a big mystery to me are they going to stick to the this fil Longo way of doing things spread uptempo throw the ball or at least be 5050 if not a little bit more pass or are they going to go back to what's been the standard at Wisconsin for years if not decades before last season on offense which was run heavy football you know that's going to be an interesting thing to watch coming into the year because I'm seeing conflicting from the quotes I'm reading from the from Longo and from fickle himself saying how they're going to operate on offense so this is kind of a good gauge as to what we're going to see same thing with Tyler van djk who's going to take over as the quarterback the Miami uh hurricanes transfer uh he he's a guy that just confounded me last year one good drive one terrible Drive drive one good quarter one bad quarter one good game one bad game that's exactly what you got from Tyler van djk last year at Miami he's going to have to be more consistent chz maloi is going to take over as the running back will Pauling top receiver they do have three starters back on the o line the defense was actually pretty decent last year pretty good actually 2.2 points per game and they have five starters back uh on that defensive side of the football um you know the defense um do have their best player back too which is good to see uh uh and that defense was pretty good last year so you know can Western Michigan move the ball this is a pretty good Wisconsin defense and should be again but I'm not laying 24 with Tyler van dijk in his first game with a new program when I have questions about what the offense is going to look like as well is if they're going to throw the football a ton with van dijk and not go back to run heavy I don't think that's a good thing for van dijk because I just didn't love the consistency or lack thereof for for him throwing the ball last year so I don't know at 24 I'm mildly interested at Western Michigan I just think it's few too many here on the Wisconsin side what do you think here with this one Conor so am I I'm interested here a little bit with Western Michigan this is a big Dumber for Wisconsin to be laying and what do we get from the offense with Van Dyk and he should be the guy I know that's kind of battling out with lock but I think van dijk's gonna start and get the shot that's true like he has not pulled away in the the in the competition to be the starter at all y he hasn't pulled away and to see him just kind of have games you know I know he dealt with some injuries and his thumb and stuff last year but at the end it was just awful I mean the interceptions were crazy of course they lost Allen they lost their big Center to the NFL so they have a few pieces there they should be good solid defense uh Wisconsin just that's what they do they got the All-American safety with uh Waller Hunter Waller who's really good for Wisconsin I just man and you know what I like in this game a little bit Western Michigan can that just kind of not give up a ton I have to look to the under in this spot here at 56 and a half I I I have a little bit with Western missionary want to look into a little bit more but I think Wisconsin kind of controls it and this is another one we have to see are they going to throw the rock a little bit more Wisconsin I like that's something we got to watch cuz we're new quarterbacks what's going to go on uh with so and here Luke fickle I mean he's go to got to get it going here you know he he goes to Wisconsin and it's just been very eh so far but C Rell it'll be packed home game they should win but laying a big number here I agree with that and look longterm uh there's there's some risk every bet you may who the who's kidding who there's a risk every time you place it bet but I will say this longterm Mac versus is power five especially week one first game of the year it's kind of ugly for the Mac teams you know I think they've never beat him I saw I think a thing like that but Wisconsin's never lost to a ma te in 40 years I think more importantly I think it's 40 to 45% for ATS teams uh for Mac teams against Power five teams they got their ass kick too that's the one thing that does concern me but I just think Western Michigan's better this year and I don't know if I trust van djk and the offense enough especially if they're going to throw the ball a lot this is also one of those games where if Wisconsin's still going up Tempo like they did last year under Longo you take a live over if they're running the ball quite a bit and they're kind of going back to the old Wisconsin ways and run heavy turn the clock slow it down then you bet alive under in this game I think that's definitely just watch and observe early in the game what's Wisconsin's pace and offensive approach going to be and Western Michigan the things you know they got both new coordinators on offense batt defense power and what do we get from Wolf can he just be not lot of turnovers they got a solid running back back at a th000 yards for uh Western Michigan so see uh what they could do this one this one's got my attention uh Friday so is fr night yep Friday night and