MADISON, Wis. – Luke Fickell wants to see growth after his first season fell short of his expectations. Baby steps forward, as he’s called it, was necessary to show progress. He delivered on that. Instead of having one empty trophy case, Wisconsin now has three.
With a postseason berth on the line, a 24-7 loss to Minnesota was equal parts embarrassing and not surprising. The Badgers (5-7, 3-6 Big Ten) were listless on offense, outmaneuvered on defense, and were mistake-prone on special teams.
The themes of a lost season played out through 60 agonizing minutes. Quarterback Braedyn Locke sailed passes over the heads of open receivers and forced throws into traffic. When the few big plays could be made, receivers couldn’t make a play. UW’s offensive line that started three seniors and a junior couldn’t open running lanes. The Badgers finished with 36 yards on 24 carries, a paltry 1.5 yards per attempt.
“There’s no way in hell you’re going to win a Big Ten game, a rivalry game, when you rush the ball for 36 yards,” said Fickell, as Wisconsin’s 166 yards of total offense was its lowest in eight years.
“We can’t run the football. You can’t generate any positive momentum. It’s really, really difficult. I like to say I can put a finger on it.”
Wisconsin’s defense, beset by injuries, provided little pressure on quarterback Max Brosner. Despite facing an offense that gave up an average of six tackles for loss and 2.2 sacks per game, the Badgers registered only one sack and no quarterback hurries. Brosner went 17-for-26 for 191 yards and accounted for three touchdowns and no turnovers.
It was a copy of last week when Nebraska quarterback Donovan Raiola went 28-for-38 for 293 yards on an afternoon when UW didn’t record a single tackle for loss.
When the Gophers (7-5, 5-4) increased their lead to 21-0 with 8:03 remaining in the third quarter, Minnesota led in total yards 270-48 on the way to generating 374 on the day.
“You got to get stops and got to score points,” senior defensive lineman Ben Barten said. “It’s still everything that happened against Nebraska last week. We didn’t get stops. We weren’t scoring points last week. This week we got some stops, weren’t scoring points. We haven’t played complementary football as a team this year as much as you need to succeed in the Big Ten.”
No longer able to hide in the watered-down Big Ten West, there was the distinct possibility that Wisconsin football would show signs of improvement in Fickell’s second year but not be able to match last season’s 7-6 record.
Not only did UW not match that record, but it became obvious the Badgers were not better than they were at the end of last season when they physically outmatched the Gophers in Minneapolis.
Yes, Wisconsin was competitive in close losses to No.3 Penn State and No.1 Oregon but was outscored 86-35 in their three rivalry games.
Losing five in a row for the first time since 1991, Wisconsin finished the regular season with a losing record for the first time since 2001, but the comparison between the two Badgers teams 23 years apart comes with context. The Badgers won at Penn State and Ohio State that season and had a 1,000-yard rusher (Anthony Davis) two 1,000-yard passers (Brooks Bollinger, Jim Sorgi), and a 1,000-yard receiver (Lee Evans).
This year’s Wisconsin offense was devoid of big-play threats, saw Locke throw 10 interceptions in nine starts, and fired its offensive coordinator with two games to go in the regular season. The defense was devoid of playmakers, evidenced by the Badgers ranking last nationally in tackles for loss, 114th in sacks, 92nd in red-zone defense, and 91st against the run.
More shocking for long-time supporters and former UW players, the Badgers lost their program’s identity of playing with toughness and physicality at the line of scrimmage and ability to respond to adversity, leading to being outscored in the second half of their losses by a combined 138-42.
“Talent doesn’t just win football games,” Fickell said. “Talent doesn’t just win championships. It’s guys that play together and be complementary in what they are doing. Unfortunately, we did not do that today and haven’t done that in the last few weeks.”
The decision by athletic director Chris McIntosh to bypass defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard for Fickell should have signaled some sort of rebuilding process. But after two seasons, Fickell’s teams have provided no signature victories and no wins over ranked opponents.
More condemning, the Badgers look like a program with no direction, no identity, little player growth vision, and questionable motivation under the guidance of a coach who continuously searches for answers as to why his team has been inconsistent or uncompetitive.
“I’ve been coaching for a good while, playing this game for a good while, and I don’t know that I’ve been in a position and situation like this to be honest with you,” Fickell said. “We got a lot of work to do, a lot of things to get done, a lot of things we got to fix up and correct. Unfortunately, we’ll have a lot of time to do it.”
Barring losses of at least nine 5-6 teams over the weekend, Wisconsin won’t compete in a bowl game for the first time since 2001. Without massive improvement on the roster, the Badgers could be headed down a similar road next season against a schedule that includes road games at Alabama, Oregon, and Indiana and a home game against Ohio State.
Current computer rankings project the Badgers to be underdogs in nine of their 12 games.
“Just like I told the players, those who stay will be a champion,” Fickell said of his message to concerned fans. “You got to have people who believe in you. Having faith is things you can’t see and right now, I’m sure they can’t see it either.”
After 26 games under Fickell, there truthfully hasn’t been much to look at.
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