The Badgers football team won their 2023 opener Saturday versus Buffalo, defeating the Bulls 38-17 at Camp Randall in the official start of the Luke Fickell era in Madison.
After a slow start in the first half, Wisconsin came alive down the stretch outscoring Buffalo 24-7 in the second half. The running backs in particular put on a show for their home crowd.
Chez Mellusi sprinted through the whole Buffalo defense for an 89-yard score with just under nine minutes in the third quarter, igniting the audience after a relatively slow stretch for the Badgers offense.
Braelon Allen later added two rushing scores of his own and on the day, Allen ran for 141 yards on 17 carries. Combined with Mellusi’s 157 yards and two touchdowns, the running backs had 298 yards and four scores.
Quarterback Tanner Mordecai had a solid day as well, completing 24 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown, though he did also have two balls intercepted on the day.
Here are some of the best images from Wisconsin’s victory: