After the failed Air Raid experiment in Madison, Luke Fickell and the Badgers parted ways with offensive coordinator Phil Longo after the loss to Oregon. Now the head coach at Sam Houston State, Longo saw some familiar struggles with the Bearkats in their season opener.
Despite the success of quarterback Hunter Watson, who started over former Badger Mabrey Mettauer, the Bearkats got blown out by Western Kentucky 24-41. Watson threw for 209 yards and added another 91 on the ground, but the offense as a whole sputtered for the most part. The offense was held to just 2-of-14 on third down and really struggled to sustain drives.