This is the first in a 12-week Friday series looking at the Wisconsin football team's 2013 opponents.
Wisconsin is close to dumping its FCS opponents as the four-team College Football Playoff approaches in 2014. But it's hard to argue the Badgers will encounter a significant step up in the strength of schedule department against the likes of UMass or other low-level FBS teams.
The Minutemen will begin their second season as an FBS team, and they surely hope it goes better than the first. UMass finished last season 1-11, surrendered at least 40 points six times and was outscored 482-152 in total. UMass's only victory came against Akron, another team that finished 1-11.
Head coach Charlie Molnar has considerable credentials as an assistant coach at previous stops — Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Notre Dame, among them — but taking over a program starting from the bottom of the FBS barrel is an entirely different animal.
Personnel: Sophomore quarterback Mike Wegzyn, who started 11 games last season, appears to have the inside track on being a starter as the 2013 season approaches. Wegzyn will have to contend with A.J. Doyle, who threw three touchdowns and eight interceptions last season.
"Based on spring practice, Mike Wegzyn was our most improved offensive player," Molnar told Boston.com this month. "He'll be the number one QB going into summer camp. But he better be looking over his shoulder because A.J. Doyle is right on his heels."
Last season, Wegzyn threw for 1,825 yards with six touchdowns and 10 interceptions. And while neither quarterback sparkled, it's important to note how dreadful the UMass running game was, as it provided little help for Wegzyn and Doyle.
UMass's offense ranked dead last out of 124 FBS teams in yards per game (278.3) and a big reason was because it ranked 118th in rushing yards (91.6). Michael Cox, the only player to rush for more than 141 yards in 2012, was taken in the seventh round of the NFL draft by the New York Giants last month.
The Minutemen's top returning receiving threat is tight end Rob Blanchflower, who caught 43 passes for 464 yards and two touchdowns. No other player on the current UMass roster caught a touchdown pass last season.
Defensively, UMass loses All-Mid-American-Conference First-Team linebacker Perry McIntyre (132 tackles, three sacks). The team's top returning tackler is sophomore linebacker Kassan Messiah (65 tackles, three tackles for a loss).
Fun fact: USA Today's Paul Myerberg rated UMass No. 124 out of 125 FBS teams entering the 2013 season. Myerberg wrote: "The Minutemen's slow, steady, up-from-the-bootstraps climb continues in 2013 with another deadly non-conference slate, another tough MAC schedule and, more than likely, another 10 or more losses."
Fun fact No. 2: In December, the UMass Faculty Senate voted on a motion to move the team from the FBS back down to the FCS level — a motion that fell short 19-18 with one abstention. The lone abstention was professor Max Page, one of the most vocal critics of the school's move to FBS. He was out of the country and couldn't be reached.
Common opponents: UMass and Wisconsin shared just one common opponent in 2012, and the scores should illustrate the difference in talent level. Indiana defeated UMass 45-6 on Sept. 8. Two months later, Wisconsin obliterated Indiana 62-14.
Strong spread: Early Las Vegas point spreads list Wisconsin as a 45-point favorite against UMass. Dating to the 2001 season, Wisconsin has beaten just three of its 47 nonconference regular season opponents by 45 points (65-0 against Temple in 2005, 70-3 against Austin Peay in 2010 and 59-10 against South Dakota in 2011).
Prediction: Wisconsin 45, UMass 7.
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