Luke Fickell and the Badgers can now begin bowl preparation for a specific opponent.
Sunday afternoon, it was revealed that Wisconsin (6-6, 4-5 Big Ten) would be heading to Phoenix to match up with Oklahoma State (7-5, 4-5 Big 12) in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Dec. 27.
The contest will be the first ever meeting between the two schools. Wisconsin returns to this bowl game for the first time since 1996 when it was known as the Copper Bowl. The Badgers, led by tailback Ron Dayne, topped Utah, 38-10.
The bowl game will be the 21st appearance for the Badgers in a bowl game. With a new staff in place, the next three and a half weeks take on an entire new meaning for the Badgers.
"I'll be coaching in some way shape or form," Fickell said during the welcome event after he was announced as the next head coach. "We'll figure out what that means. If that means I'm coaching the punters or that means I'm going to be coaching the nose guards - I am going to be around these guys. I am going to have the ability to coach them, to get to know them and start to build that trust, respect and love that I think is so critical for our future."
There is still much to be determined in terms of what the coaching set up will look like. BadgerBlitz.com expects Jim Leonhard to return to the coaching staff, which would add another layer to be figured out.
The new head coach has unique experience in this kind of situation. Back in 2011 when Fickell served as interim head coach at Ohio State, incoming head coach Urban Meyer was brought in. Fickell worked as the head coach in the bowl game but may have hinted he didn't want to go in that direction.
"I sat down with Jim (Leonhard) yesterday for a good while and we're trying to map out how this whole thing would look," Fickell added. "I was unique to have been through one of these processes in 2011 and learned a lot from it. I don't think we want to go the route that which we did and that's why you do it sometimes and you take your experiences you learn from it. I don't know that we know exactly what that will look and moving in the next three weeks, but I promised that I am going to be a part of it."
The next three weeks of preparation will be key for a young bunch of players and many slated to return on both sides of the ball, barring any intentions to transfer. The time serves as an opportunity for Fickell to get to know and learn about his team. With Leonhard expected to return along with the incoming assistants being brought on, the details on the field schematically can be ironed out as well.
"I'm really excited for this opportunity for our players," Fickell said in a statement on Sunday. "Oklahoma State is a great program and I have tremendous respect for Coach (Mike) Gundy and his staff. Bowl games are great rewards for players and staff and I can't wait to start our preparation."
Wisconsin, which has won seven of their last eight bowl game, has the third-longest active bowl streak in the country, trailing only Georgia (26) and Oklahoma (24).
_________________________________________________
*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den
*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel
*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)
*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @pete_brey12, @seamus_rohrer
*Like us on Facebook
