One legendary college coach spoke about the Luke Fickell situation this week.
When it comes to the Wisconsin Badgers, all the discourse currently revolves around head coach Luke Fickell after an ugly 27-10 loss to the Maryland Terrapins in Week 3.
That loss put Fickell at 15-15 at Wisconsin, including 8-11 in conference play. After a 2023 season where Wisconsin had a blip before finishing strong with a 7-6 year, things have gone downhill for the Badgers. They missed a bowl game for the first time in over 20 years in 2024, going 5-7, as they lost five straight games to end the season.
Then, after two up-and-down outings to start the year, Wisconsin was blown out against the Alabama Crimson Tide before an even more humiliating loss to Maryland this past weekend.
Two-plus years into the Fickell era, there doesn’t seem to be many answers on the table currently as Wisconsin is undergoing its rebuild, prompting fans to call for his job at Camp Randall Stadium last Saturday.
Will Wisconsin actually pull the plug just three years into the Fickell experiment? One former championship coach doesn’t think so.
Urban Meyer, a longtime head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he went 83-9 over seven seasons, spoke about Fickell on the Triple Option podcast this week, sharing his opinions on the head coach’s tenure so far.
“Luke was on my staff for several years and one of the best football coaches I’ve ever been around. Great family, great everything,” Meyer said.
“I was a little worried when he first went there because Wisconsin is not the same job it was before the four teams from the Pac-12 came in,” Meyer said. “And then they moved the West division to now it’s just the best two. Wisconsin was a very good job, is a very good job, but it’s not the same job. As a result, I think they’re in trouble.”
One thing that has been lacking from the Badgers is an identity. In the past, they were known as a physical, hard-nosed team that could run the ball and depend on their offensive line. That hasn’t been the case recently.
“I watched them play [last year],” Meyer continued. “We did their game last year against Alabama, and I stood on the field, and I just [thought], ‘they always had a Melvin Gordon or an explosive player that took your breath away a little bit. Sometimes they had two.’ I remember playing when they had Jonathan Taylor and Melvin Gordon, and they would do the fly series with Melvin Gordon, and then they had the downhill with Jonathan Taylor. Monsters [up front with the offensive line], I mean, one of the best offensive lines in college football.”
That lack of identity has Meyer worried about Fickell’s future. Still, he doesn’t believe that anything will happen this year, due to the financials.
“I’m worried about this one,” Meyer acknowledged. “But I’ll say this again: Wisconsin doesn’t have that money. There’s no chance they’re writing a check for $25 million. It’s not happening this year.”
The financials will likely play a big factor in the decision. But, there is a lot to figure out for the Badgers after a tumultuous start to what could be an ugly season.
Category: General Sports
