Wisconsin Badgers football: What to know about Western Michigan

The Wisconsin Badgers will open their season this Friday, August 30, at 8:00 p.m. Central against the Western Michigan Broncos. The Broncos enter 2024 under second-year head coach Lance Taylor, who expects to improve from a poor 4-8 record last year. Taylor enters this season with two new coordinators on both sides of the ball, OC Walt Bell and DC Scott Power. 

Last season, the Broncos went 0-3 against Power-5 programs Syracuse, Iowa, and Mississippi State. Action Network's Brett McMurphy had Western Michigan projected to make the 68 Ventures Bowl this season. Should the Broncos qualify, it will be their first bowl game since 2021. 

This game will be the first time the Badgers have faced Western Michigan since the Cotton Bowl on January 2, 2017. Corey Clement had 71 yards and one rushing touchdown, Troy Fumagalli caught the final touchdown from Alex Hornibrook, and the T.J. Watt-led Badger defense held off the previously undefeated Broncos 24-16 for the first Cotton Bowl title in program history. 

It was also the first time Badger fans were introduced to this coach and his eye-rolling "Row the Boat" rallying cry. 

Wisconsin leads the overall series four games to one. The Broncos' only win in the series came during the Badgers' embarrassing 1988 one-win season. That season was perhaps best remembered for Don Morton declaring, "We may be down, but we're not dead" in one, shall we say, cringe-worthy video. 

Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponents will look to start a new streak, where one MAC opponent defeats at least one Big Ten team. Last year, MAC opponents went 0-8 against the Big Ten. Western Michigan's last win over a Big Ten opponent came during that special 2016 season when the Broncos defeated both Northwestern and Illinois. 

Here are some things to know about the 2024 Western Michigan Broncos.