While there were early jitters on both sides of the football for a Wisconsin team debuting a brand new era, the Badgers cleaned things up in the final 30 minutes to take down Buffalo, 38-17.
Chez Mellusi was Wisconsin’s best offensive weapon on Saturday and started the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter.
After Buffalo responded with a touchdown drive of its own, Tanner Mordecai found Chimere Dike for his first scoring toss as a Badger to take the lead back just before the half.
The second half was mostly smooth sailing for Wisconsin. It started with an 89-yard romp from Mellusi to give the Badgers a 21-10 lead in the third quarter.
Here are five takeaways from the first win of the new era: 1. Wisconsin's running back room is as special as it gets
2. The defense was excellent in short-yardage situations 3. Wisconsin's secondary was beaten too often
4. Tanner Mordecai failed to deliver in his debut, but there's a lot of time 5. The offensive tempo was certainly a difference