The Buffalo Bulls finished last season 7-6 and a MAC record of 5-3 which led to a tie for 2^nd place in the East Division of the MAC Conference and an appearance in the Camellia Bowl against the Georgia Southern Eagles which resulted in a 23-21 win. Maurice Linguist made changes at the Offensive Coordinator and Defensive Coordinator after Shane Montgomery left the team and Brandon Bailey left to become the Defensive Coordinator for the Georgia Southern Eagles by hiring DJ Mangas to take over as Offensive Coordinator and Robert Wright to take over as Defensive Coordinator. 

Mangas most recently served as the Defensive Analyst for the UCF Knights in 2022. This season, the Bulls enter the year with an over/under win total of 6.5 wins which means Buffalo is projected to make a bowl game for the 2^nd consecutive year and based on Vegas projections is projected to be the 4^th best team in the MAC Conference behind the Toledo Rockets, Ohio Bobcats, and the Miami-Ohio Warhawks.

Last season, the Wisconsin Badgers finished with an overall record of 7-6 and a Big Ten record of 4-5 which led to a 5^th place finish in the Big Ten West Division and an appearance in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl against the Oklahoma State Cowboys that resulted in a 24-17 win. Paul Chryst was fired midway through the season as head coach for the Badgers who hired Luke Fickell to take over as head coach. 

Fickell most recently served as the head coach for the Cincinnati Bearcats from 2017-2022. Luke Fickell hired Phil Longo to serve as Offensive Coordinator and Mike Tressel to serve as Defensive Coordinator. Longo most recently served as the Offensive Coordinator for the North Carolina Tar Heels from 2019-2022 while Tressel most recently served as the Defensive Coordinator for the Cincinnati Bearcats from 2021-2022. 

This season, the Badgers enter the season ranked 19^th in the AP Poll and 21^st in the Coaches Polls with an over/under win total of 8.5 wins which means Wisconsin is projected to become bowl-eligible again this season and based on Vegas odds projected to be the 4^th best team in the Big Ten behind the Ohio State Buckeyes, Michigan Wolverines, and Penn State Nittany Lions which means the Badgers are also projected to be the best team in the Big Ten West division. 

BookMaker has the Wisconsin Badgers listed as 28.5-point favorites at home against the Buffalo Bulls on Saturday in week 1 of the college football season. These teams have only played each other one other time in college football which came in 2006 and resulted in a 35-3 win at home for the Wisconsin Badgers, however, the Buffalo Bulls covered the 38-point spread. 

Buffalo finished last season with a record of 7-5-1 ATS overall, 4-2-1 ATS on the road, and 4-1-1 ATS as an underdog while Wisconsin finished 6-7 ATS overall, 4-3 ATS at home, and 6-5 ATS as a favorite.

Both teams are projected to be two of the best in their respective conferences as Buffalo is projected to be the 4^th best in the MAC and Wisconsin is projected to be the 4^th best in the Big Ten. However, Wisconsin is the more talented team and enters this game ranked 19^th in the AP and 21^st in the Coaches Poll. 

The Badgers won the previous meeting between these two schools back in 2006, however, the Bulls got the 38-point cover. I look for the Badgers to get the win in this game, however, I will be buying the .5 point and taking the Buffalo Bulls +29 on BookMaker for week 1 of the college football season.