The Luke Fickell era of Wisconsin football has been an unmitigated disaster for most of the last three years. But on Saturday, shortly after Fickell was given another public show of support by his athletic director, the Badgers pulled off their biggest win since Fickell took over.
Amid near-constant talk about whether Fickell would or should be fired, Wisconsin delivered a 13-10 upset victory over No. 23 Washington, marking the first win against a ranked team for Fickell at UW. He was previously 0-10, including 0-4 for this season, as the Badgers were outscored 117-31.
While there is a long way to go for Fickell to earn back the trust of the Wisconsin faithful, the third-year head coach seemed quite relieved after Saturday’s game.
“Sometimes you forget. Me, to be honest with you, I did forget a little bit of what it was like to have that emotion,” Fickell said [h/t Badger247’s Nick Osen]. “And to see our guys with that emotion that I kind of talk about. It is really good, not just for the soul. It’s good for the team and it’s good for everybody.”
Fickell also spoke about Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh, who has now come out publicly with his support of Fickell multiple times despite numerous calls to fire him after winning less than half of his games and just barely more than a third of his conference games.
“Let me just start off by saying I have an incredible appreciation and respect for Chris McIntosh and what he has had to do,” Fickell said. “There’s mixed emotions on my part, to be honest with you. I don’t ever want somebody to have to fight my battles, but I understand that that’s where we are. And I can’t say thank you enough to Chris for fighting the battle that he’s fighting and for Chancellor Mnookin to listen and believe.
“And yes, there is a, not to say, a relief there. There is a spark, an energy, a hope, a vision that this week gave us.
“I’m not here to tell you that this is the expectation, you know, to win one game and expect that people, our fans, to rush the field. There’s a greater expectation. That’s why I came here. That’s why these guys came here. But at times, you’ve got to know that people have your back, and for me and for them, I can’t say thank you enough, obviously, not just to Chris, but the chancellor, and the board.”
Taking over as Wisconsin’s head coach in late 2022, Fickell started off well enough in Madison; after winning the bowl game he coached shortly after being hired, Fickell led the Badgers to a 7-6 season and another bowl game.
However, last season, Wisconsin went 5-7, having lost each of its final five games, and missed a bowl game for the first time since 2001.
This year, though, has gone much worse, with the Badgers, after a 2-0 start, losing six straight while being limited to 14 or fewer points in every game.
Wisconsin finishes the season with clashes against second-ranked Indiana in Bloomington, Illinois in Madison, and rival Minnesota in Minneapolis.
https://clutchpoints.com/ncaa-football/wisconsin-football-news-luke-fickell-washington-stunner-job-safe
