Before facing Indiana, Luke Fickell made 2 moves he hopes Badger fans notice

Luke Fickell has been in the doghouse with Wisconsin fans for basically the entire season. As more and more losses piled up for Wisconsin this year, Fickell defenders continued to jump on the "Fire Fickell" bandwagon. Before the Indiana game, Fickell did two things that arguably were purely for Wisconsin fans. Stuff he has to be hoping fans notice.

Luke Fickell did not wear the T.E.A.M Vest

This one is weird, but it's important for fans, especially on social media. Fans have been angry at his gameday vest all season and some of last season. For it's mostly represented by losing more than winning. It's also been a stubborn move on his part to continue wearing it week in and week out.

Last week, he wore a sweatshirt over the vest because of the weather, yet fans were quick to notice he didn't have it on (or at least visible). The Badgers went on to beat the Washington Huskies. Fans were calling for the vest to be burned and retired. This week, Fickell went back to the hoodie, and not only did fans notice, but Wisconsin's official X account posted about it.

Fickell is a stubborn coach who often sticks to his guns until it's often too late. However, he knows the pulse of the fanbase, and he's buying goodwill with a weird request from fans: get rid of the vest.

Starting true freshmen QB Carter Smith

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The second thing he did was start true freshman quarterback Carter Smith. He may have done this anyway, as the quarterback situation is a mess. However, knowing how Fickell typically makes decisions, he probably would have stuck with Hunter Simmons for the rest of the season. He likes the veteran presence everywhere on the team, but especially at quarterback.

Yet, what have fans been clamoring for? The true freshman, even if he's slower with his reads (as a true freshman often is). The fans want to see the future, and Fickell came in to buy back more goodwill and also prepare for the future.