Wisconsin vs. Buffalo: What to know about the Bulls, who are projected to finish third in MAC East

MADISON – Wisconsin opens it 2023 season at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against visiting Buffalo.

The Bulls finished 5-3 in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference and 7-6 overall last season under head coach Maurice Linguist.

Linguist replaced Lance Leipold, who left for Kansas in April 2021 after six seasons at Buffalo.

The Bulls are projected to finish in third place in the MAC East, behind defending division champion Ohio and Miami.

Here is what to know about the Bulls.

Wisconsin offense must play keep-away from Buffalo safety Marcus Fuqua

Led by safety Marcus Fuqua, Buffalo finished fifth nationally last season in turnovers forced with 26 (13 interceptions, 13 fumble recoveries).

Fuqua tied for the national lead in interceptions last season with seven. He added two fumble recoveries and finished fourth on the team in tackles with 65, and was a third-team all-American according to The Associated Press. The fifth-year senior is arguably Buffalo’s best player.

“We want to continue to (have) an attacking, downhill, aggressive style of play,” Linguist said. “But we also want to be fundamentally sound. Make sure that we can plug our gaps, set edges and make sure we can create big plays.”

Buffalo offense could have a different look this season under new coordinator

Linguist made a significant move after last season when offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery was replaced by DJ Mangas.

Mangas, 34, was a defensive analyst at Central Florida last season but has worked mostly on offense. He was an offensive analyst at LSU in 2019 and the Tigers’ passing game coordinator in 2021.

“The leadership that he has provided,” Linguist said, “the culture he has built on that side of the ball, being able to be multiple, being able to be diverse and do a lot of things with the playmakers we feel that we have, we’ve got to continue to build where we are schematically. But I think we’re on track.”

Cole Snyder is expected to start at quarterback for the second consecutive season. Snyder, who transferred to Buffalo from Rutgers, completed 58.8% of his passes last season for an average of 233.1 yards per game. He had 18 touchdown passes and eight interceptions.

“You don’t have a whole lot of ideas what exactly you’re going to see,” UW coach Luke Fickell said. “There’s new people in college football. There’s no scrimmages. I think we’ve got a better idea going into the game what we’ll see defensively.”

Michael Caputo returns to Camp Randall Stadium as Buffalo safeties and special teams coach

Michael Caputo, who was a defensive assistant/analyst at UW last season, is in his first season coaching the Bulls safeties and special teams.

Caputo played safety at UW from 2011-15. He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at LSU in 2017 and worked with the Tigers for two seasons. He coached safeties at Utah State in 2019 and then moved to Baylor, where he was a defensive quality control coach for two seasons.

Maurice Linguist touts his players’ dedication to Buffalo program

Linguist told reporters that the Bulls didn’t lose a scholarship player to the transfer portal and that standout linebacker Shaun Dolac had opportunities.

“A guy like Shaun Dolac certainly had a lot of opportunity, being first-team, all-Mid-American Conference,” Linguist said.

Dolac recorded 97 solo tackles and a national-best 147 total tackles. He had 4½ sacks, 13½ tackles for loss and broke up seven passes.

“A lot of people probably would have liked for Shaun to be on their team,” Linguist said. “He never blinked an eye, never had a moment he doubted where he wanted to be.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about Wisconsin's season-opening foe Buffalo