Welp, that didn't go according to plan at all. The Wisconsin Badgers traveled to Iowa City with hopes of posting an upset win over the Iowa Hawkeyes, but they laid an egg in this rivalry game. In the end, Iowa was able to celebrate a 42-10 win.
Losing to a rival by 32 points, with The Heartland Trophy on the line? Fans are livid right now and it should come as no surprise that they're directing their anger towards head coach Luke Fickell. Wisconsin didn't look prepared for this game from the start and that's on the head man in charge.
The offense was sluggish, while the defense had no answers for the Iowa running game, which is of course led by Kaleb Johnson. Nothing went right for Wisconsin and people have just about had it with Fickell, calling for his job right after the final whistle.
final: Wisconsin 10, Iowa 42
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 3, 2024
Wisconsin Badgers fans are calling for Luke Fickell to be fired after loss to Iowa
With the loss, Wisconsin is now 5-4 on the year. This team will have a bye next week, but then they'll get ready to host No. 1 Oregon in Madison the week after. Barring an unreal upset, the Badgers will fall to 5-5 on the season and there's worry they won't even make a bowl game.
The problem with Wisconsin right now is that this team truly has no identity under Fickell. Wisconsin has a rich, tough to match tradition when it comes to football, but we're not seeing Fickell's team represent anything close to what we've seen in the past. That's a major issue.
42-10 against Iowa is unacceptable. Wisconsin should really consider firing Luke Fickell. We could be 5-4 with Paul Chryst right now and LOOK like Wisconsin Football (under center, physical, power run game) but instead we have this garbage “air raid” running offense.
— Zach Brooks (@ZBrooks92) November 3, 2024
I remember when they hired Luke Fickell and everyone was already concerned about when the badgers actually get Great, him leaving and going to Ohio State or something. At this point, I don’t think we have to worry about that. Quite the opposite honestly.
— Ben Fischer (@GirldadBenFish) November 3, 2024
Luke Fickell is a major, major, major bust of a hire.
— Mike Van Vreede (@punchthecore) November 3, 2024
It is becoming more and more clear that Chris McIntosh made an incredible mistake hiring Luke Fickell
— AcesSlevin (@TheAdamHerritz) November 3, 2024
I was all-in on Luke Fickell and thought he was the right hire at the time, but I'd be lying if I said I still feel 100% confident that it was the right hire over Leonhard with hindsight.
— Ian Kenyon (@ikenyonFB) November 3, 2024
Luke Fickell getting baptized by Kirk Ferentz is pretty good stuff. Welcome to hell, son https://t.co/2alrA3gp1J
— Connor Happer (@ConnorHapper) November 3, 2024
Those tweets above are only a handful of examples of people ripping Fickell for what the Badgers showcased on Saturday night. When Tyler Van Dike went down with his torn ACL, fans were worried it'd be a long season with Braedyn Locke, but who expected this? It's proving to be a campaign to forget for Fickell and the Badgers.