Madison — Head coach Luke Fickell met with the media Monday as Wisconsin prepares for one of its most consequential games of the season. The Badgers will host Iowa as the two bitter rivals duel over the Heartland Trophy.

Fickell previewed the Hawkeyes and spoke on the meaning of the rivalry, ex-Wisconsin quarterback Deacon Hill, and much more.

The Badgers are set to face Iowa for the 97th time in the two program's history. This is the first true, classic rivalry game Wisconsin plays this season, and Fickell touched on the importance of rivalry games and his personal respect for the matchup in his opening statement.

"Just in case you guys were wondering, I'm a traditionalist. In case you wanna ask about rivalries, rivalries are really, really, really important to me and they always have been. Just the way that I grew up, in Big Ten country. Not that I've known a ton about (this) rivalry, that's why I thought it was a big deal for us as a program and staff to make sure that this summer, and even in fall camp that we studied the rivalry and had nights about the rivalry. Both this one and the Minnesota one as well. But it was really, really important because I truly believe to respect the rivalry, you've gotta do a lot of work. You've gotta know that you're walking into something, the history behind it and the meaning behind it, and what's gonna be a little different in those games. I'm excited; obviously I've played Iowa a lot and coached against Iowa a lot, and I think every single game that I've ever coached in, maybe one that I played in that ended up being a complete battle as well, has been just that," Fickell said.

This game is already of immense magnitude just looking at the Big Ten west standings, but the fact that it's a heated rivalry game in which Wisconsin will be looking for revenge from last season simply adds to the theatrics.

Iowa's defense, as it seems to be every year, is once again very formidable in 2023. One of their key playmakers is the ball-hawking cornerback Cooper DeJean, who had a pick-six against Wisconsin last season.

"Well obviously he does a lot. I wouldn't be surprised if we see him on offense," Fickell said. "He's a guy that you gotta be careful (with). If you take shots, he's a guy that can change a game. Obviously did it in the bowl game, I think he's the sole benefactor for that game being the way it was. He's created a lot of those things. And then special teams obviously, he can make a lot of big plays. Definitely gotta know where he is, definitely understand in some of those situations they're gonna find ways to use him. Whether that's singling him up defensively, on special teams or even if he does slide over trying to find ways to get him on offense. But a very dynamic player, even the last couple of years not being in the league, he's a guy that I've seen and heard a lot about."

Iowa's offense has been one of the national talking points in the sport for over a year now. With their well-documented failures on that side of the ball a season ago, and their 25 points-per-game quota this season, they're somewhat of a punchline. However, they're still finding ways to get it done despite a very unique offense that only has three wide receivers with a reception all season.

"That's great for people to talk about, but it doesn't mean you can negate preparing for things that might happen. You might see somebody else out there at wide receiver and some different things. I think the media makes it a little more than it is. The uniqueness is, Iowa is who Iowa is. They're very good at running the football, they've very good at disguising things. Again, if you look at them, their big plays have been made more by the tight ends and Eric All...in some ways, I think they're getting back in these last few weeks to being who Iowa has been and what's made them really good. We've seen that, we watch the same films. But I don't think that you can lull yourself to sleep and not think that there's gonna be shots and there's gonna be opportunities. You're gonna have to play well on the outside in a lot of those situations too."

For what it's worth, Iowa hasn't hit their self-imposed offensive points quota of 25 — they're at 21.8 through six games. Fickell's point, though, is that they play their own brand of football, one that's gotten them to 5-1 and deserves plenty of attention.

Iowa's starting quarterback on Saturday will be former the Wisconsin Badger Hill. The gunslinger entered the transfer portal this offseason, initially committing to Fordham before flipping to Iowa. With Hawkeyes' starter Cade McNamara out for the foreseeable future, Hill is set to be the man in Iowa City. Fickell was asked if he can mine any information from the defensive players in Madison that are familiar with his game.

"I think you just gotta really take a good look at what he's doing there. There's not a whole lot here, other than the players who know who his is and know a lot more about him, and are probably still connected to him and friends. But it's hard to get into all that. I think you just gotta make sure you do your job, evaluate how they're using him in different ways. And that's where I think they've evolved a little bit," he said. "I think all the transition that they've had this year and some of the injuries has kind of put them in a situation where they've gotta do what they've gotta do to be successful and win. Obviously, he's gonna be the best opportunity for them at quarterback, and I don't know anything more than what I've seen in the last game and a half from him."

As a Badger, Hill never got much of a shot to display his talents. He was known for his rocket arm and tantalizing deep ball, which isn't quite how the Hawkeyes' offense is famous for operating. Hill's return to Madison should be a fascinating one.

Fickell said that he needed to study the Wisconsin-Iowa rivalry to become familiar with the specific history of that game, but he's apparently well-versed in Iowa as a university.

"I've known a lot about Iowa. I don't wanna say, I'm not saying I grew up an Iowa fan, but in some ways, it was one of my spots because of wrestling, I knew a lot more about the University of Iowa and maybe their wrestling program than I knew about their football program. But I always kinda admired, and probably was one of my first visits, not true visits as a player, but to go to the university and watch an NCAA wrestling tournament when I was in seventh, eighth grade. So I know a lot about the university, and I've studied their football program, in particular their defense, when I was a young coach particularly for the first five or six years. So I know more about the University of Iowa than I do about the history of the rivalry. I've studied that, but only for eight months now. The other things I've studied for quite a while."

True freshman cornerback Jonas Duclona saw his most meaningful reps of the season against Rutgers. He was probably the most impressive true freshman throughout the offseason, and worked his way into the team's two-deep by September.

"Jonas is one of those guys I've known for a long time. Obviously he's a true freshman this year, came in in the spring. Got a lot of work through spring football, got his first real opportunity to play this weekend, made some plays. I don't wanna say that he didn't, but the last play of defense is one that kinda stands out, but Jonas has a bright future. It was a situation where he didn't have to be in there, but I think the experience that he got this weekend in a game that was still a game, guys were still taking shots, is gonna bode really well for him and for us in the future. Whether that's six, eight weeks, or that doesn't happen to be as much this year as next. But definitely a guy that has got a bright future, and I feel like if we need him he's got some experience now, and we wouldn't hesitate to put him in the game."

On the outside, Wisconsin has primarily been working with Rico Hallman, Alexander Smith and Nyzier Fourqurean. After Duclona's experience against Rutgers, it'll be interesting to see if he begins rotating in more frequently.

Wisconsin's passing game has been inconsistent to begin the season, and almost non-existent in regards to the deep ball.

"I think it's a combination (of execution and defensive scheming). I'll say that we would like to take some more of those shots. You can't make plays down the field if you don't eventually take some of those shots. But I think that's where the maturity of our quarterback has shown. There's enough of them that are called, but when they're not there, he's been really smart. Not just saying, 'hey, I'm gonna throw this thing up and see if it's a 50/50 ball.' Having the ability to move on and progress through whatever he has to, and if he has to pull it down and create some things with his legs he has to. So I think it's twofold. I think (defenses) have done a good job of staying on top of those guys, recognizing some of the shot situations and maybe playing a little more coverage. But I think it's twofold on our part too. Our quarterback has done a really, really good job of recognizing when its not there, as opposed to if he was younger, if he was kinda turned loose...In some ways, maybe you want him to take some of those shots, but he's been really efficient and smart with the ball, and I think in the long run that's what's best for us."

The Badgers haven't necessarily needed to win a barnburner of a game with deep shots galore yet this season. Their best plays in the deep passing game did come with their backs against the wall against Washington State. Ultimately, two things can be true at once — Wisconsin's offense would benefit from more deep completions, but it is better not to force them.

Wisconsin kickoff specialist Jack Van Dyke has now sent four kickoffs out of bounds for a penalty. None of them have been especially detrimental, but in an extremely tight game, it certainly will be.

"It's consistency. It's a pretty good unit, to be honest with you, when they do return it. I mean obviously, we can't kick the ball out of bounds. If you would say, what's the one thing special teams wise that you probably haven't done a good enough job on, I'd say it's kick placement on the kickoff. We've gotta continue to find ways to get better at that. We've got some other guys that can do it, if Jack can't get it done. He can. It's just confidence and consistency. And you know, you get into our stadium and the wind starts to swirl a little bit, and sometimes that can get into his head, especially when he hasn't kicked it as well as he would've liked. But I think it comes down to us being more consistent in what we're doing, trusting what we're doing."

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