It's true that former head coach Barry Alvarez stepped down from his other long-time role in Madison as athletic director in 2021. Yet he apparently remains a confidant and trusted sounding board for successor Chris McIntosh, who is apt to run his decisions past the old coach. 

So we're assuming that McIntosh must have gotten the seal of approval from Alvarez to chart a different path for the Badgers in the fall when he hired Luke Fickell off of a highly-successful run at Cincinnati because of what Fickell plans to do with the traditional ground-and-pound Badger offense, as preferred for decades by Alvarez. Though we can't help but envision what might have been a humorous scenario if McIntosh didn't tell Alvarez what was coming next. We can only imagine how the old coach might have reacted if blindsided by the news that Wisconsin landed noted SMU gunslinger quarterback Tanner Mordecai from the transfer portal, that recent North Carolina offensive coordinator Phil Longo was being lured for a similar role in Madison, and that Longo was planning to install his version of the Air Raid. It would have been worth good money to watch the Alvarez reaction if that were indeed the case!

Bruce Marshall's full breakdown of Wisconsin's 2023 outlook, which includes how he's playing their win total, can be found below as part of SportsLine's preview of the Big Ten season.

Big Ten preview: Conference winner | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Maryland | Michigan | Michigan State | Minnesota | Nebraska | Northwestern | Ohio State | Penn State | Purdue | Rutgers | Wisconsin

2023 Wisconsin at a glance

• Last Year: 7-6 SU, 6-7 ATS, 7-6 O/U
  
• Returning Starters: Offense 6; Defense 5
• Win Total: 8.5 (Over -140, Under -105)
  

What do you need to know about Wisconsin before locking in your Big Ten futures bets? And which side of their win total makes for the best play? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Big Ten futures betting strategy from a veteran college football expert!