Luke Fickell's decision to start Hunter Simmons at QB has backfired in record time

It has gone to hell in a hand basket in a matter of minutes for Wisconsin. Luke Fickell's decision to start Hunter Simmons in favor of Danny O'Neil filling in for an injured Billy Edwards Jr. has come back to haunt him immediately. In a game where points were always going to be at a premium, Wisconsin did its part to make sure the Iowa Hawkeyes would have 17 points of their own through one quarter.

Simmons was a disastrous 2-for-7 passing for 23 yards and two interceptions in the first 15 minutes of play. Iowa was effectively gifted 14 points off turnovers from Wisconsin's constantly overwhelmed quarterback to lead 17-0 through one. Given how much Iowa values defense and special teams, the Hawkeyes may not have to do much the rest of the way to win this game effortlessly over Wisconsin.

The first interception was nothing short of a disaster, helping set up an easy score for the Hawkeyes.

Kamari Moulton did not have to do all that much to hit pay dirt a few plays later for Iowa on this score.

Simmons' next interception was even more embarrassing, as it will be so hard to come back from...

Luke Fickell should not be allowed to coach this team in the second half

As if things could not get any worse, Simmons turned the ball over again by not completing a pass behind the line of scrimmage. Iowa picked it up and continued its merry way down the field. Giving a sound football team like Iowa one short field after another is why Wisconsin might already be out of this game before halftime. They are going up against a team that is notorious for low-scoring games.

In a sport where every game matters, why should Fickell be allowed to coach this team for a day longer? Every decision he makes in the lead-up to the game is worse than the one before it. Kirk Ferentz became a hall-of-fame head coach for winning games ugly offensively and spectacularly in the other two phases of the game. When it comes to Fickell, it is all ugly, all of the time for Wisconsin.

Frankly, it does not matter what his buyout is. He should have been gone weeks ago. To potentially start out Big Ten play at 0-3 and on a four-game losing streak, all to Power Four teams, you cannot have that. This is a program that at one point had a ton of pride. Now it looks like it might be worst team in the Power Four. Is there a team worse in in the Big Ten than the Badgers? Nobody is close...

For a team that only had so many winnable games left, it is unbelievable how they give ones away.