The Wisconsin Badgers suffered a frustrating loss on Saturday to the UCLA Bruins. It was a game that simply had no momentum. Wisconsin couldn't get anything going on offense, and the defense couldn't get off the field when it actually mattered. One of the biggest issues for the game was the officiating. It was brutal, and one of the poorest-officiated games on record. Luke Fickell's comments on the game were both right and wrong.
Luke Fickell said that he normally submits somewhere between zero and three video clips to the Big Ten for clarification. He often only sends ones in which he can coach up his players, like "hey, they are calling this, so be careful." But after the UCLA game, Wisconsin submitted over 17. That's a huge number and one that can't be dismissed. It wouldn't be surprising to know that UCLA and Bob Chesney also submitted a bunch.
It was very poorly officiated, and it affected both teams, but Wisconsin way more than UCLA. But here's what we need to get into. Luke Fickell was clearly pissed about the officiating but did a great job of holding his tongue in smart ways. He was subtle enough to say that it was terrible and wise enough to keep putting the pressure on Wisconsin to play better.
Wisconsin's biggest problem against UCLA was themselves, and that much is clear
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He said that there were a few that he just doesn't understand, like the Mason Posa one, "that I would say is a problem in a junior high game." But he ultimately ended with this comment: "There’s one thing that I’ll end with. My dad always told me at a young age, 'Don’t ever leave it in the hands of officials.'"
This is right. He's right. Wisconsin has to be better, has to play better, has to get a quarterback that can throw more than 66 yards, has to have an offensive game plan that can march down the field more than once, and has to get off the field on defense in 3rd-and-long situations. Wisconsin truly has to be better, and if they were better, maybe the officiating wouldn't even be a story. Well, I guess it would be a side story.
Yet, he's also wrong in the sense that the officiating absolutely affected the momentum of the game. The officials blowing the whistle so much, or not blowing the whistle when they should have, completely changed the rhythm and flow of the game. Wisconsin was constantly out of rhythm, and some of that is their own doing, but some of that is on the officials.
If this game were officiated accurately, would it have changed the results? It's hard to say it wouldn't have. But Fickell is right; the main problem is still on Wisconsin.
His rant against the officials and calling them out still takes nothing away from the fact that Wisconsin can't be that bad in a game against a good team. UCLA is now a top-10 team in the country; if you want to beat them, you can't shoot yourself in the foot by being bad at football. If Wisconsin is frustrated, you can yell at the officials, but then turn around and yell in the mirror too.
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