Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell sent curious prediction on Oregon, Washington, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota

Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell sent curious prediction on Oregon, Washington, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Wisconsin Badgers football coach Luke Fickell’s team has been outscored 71-0 in the past two weeks in losses to the Ohio State Buckeyes and Iowa Hawkeyes. In front of a Camp Randall Stadium crowd both times.

Things have gone mad in Madison. And it isn’t going to get any better, anytime soon, according to Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde, who assesses Fickell’s seat as Mercury-level heat.

As Forde notes, though, Fickell is due for more losses as the Badgers travel to Eugene, Oregon, to potentially face a third-straight shutout this coming Saturday, then the Washington Huskies at home, the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington, the Illinois Fighting Illini at home, and then the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Minneapolis.

“One of the most heralded hires of ’23 has never worked out as anticipated, and it has gotten markedly worse over the last 12 games. Fickell’s record in that time is 2–10, with the only victories over Miami (Ohio) and Middle Tennessee. Home games have become toxic airborne events, with cascades of boos and rows of empty seats. The Badgers have been shut out in consecutive games for the first time since 1977,” Forde wrote.

“Fickell hasn’t been able to deliver a glimmer of hope the last two seasons. And there are more losses on the way against a difficult closing schedule.”

Many Badger fans rightfully wonder why Fickell is being projected to have any more losses at all. Fickell’s program’s futility is reaching historic levels, and no one is fooled in the NIL era about a Power 4 school being able to afford a $25 million buyout, regardless of how frugal a football-heavy state’s flagship school is claiming to be.

The Florida Gators didn’t wait to pull the trigger on Billy Napier, firing him on Sunday. The Penn State Nittany Lionsfired James Franklin the week before, with no hesitation, after three straight losses.

Wisconsin risking further embarrassment will alienate loyal Badger fans. Cutting bait a la Florida and Penn State puts them in the best position to nab the best Fickell replacement possible.