Nearly a week removed since Wisconsin's Week 1 home win over the Miami RedHawks, it is still hard to get past how disjointed the Badgers looked in the first half under Luke Fickell. Nobody could have foreseen Maryland transfer starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. getting hurt right before halftime, but it felt like the defense and San Diego State transfer quarterback Danny O'Neil bailed Fickell out.
While the Alabama game in two weeks looms large, Fickell does have a few things working in his favor this weekend. The first is he has extended time to get O'Neil even more reps in Jeff Grimes offense before Saturday's start. A second is that the Badgers' Week 2 opponent in Middle Tennessee may be among the worst teams in all of FBS. The Blue Raiders got smoked at home Week 1 by Austin Peay.
And potentially third, there are other Power Four head coaches feeling considerably more heat than Fickell entering Week 2. Alabama's Kalen DeBoer had a disastrous showing vs. Florida State down in Tallahassee. It was more of the same excuses for Brent Pry at Virginia Tech vs. South Carolina. As for DeShaun Foster at UCLA, Nico Iamaleava did not look the part, while Utah's Devon Dampier thrived.
Again, Week 2 needs to be all about Fickell putting out the small fires he always seems to be starting.
Week 2 is about Luke Fickell, Wisconsin building confidence vs. Alabama
Logic seems like it is going to prevail in Madison this week. Even if O'Neil is starting under center for the Badgers, expect for the Wisconsin offense to still look rather vanilla under Grimes' watch. While everyone should expect for the Badgers to play a more complete game this time around, as opposed to last week, why would they want to show off anything that could help Alabama beat them later on?
Given that Derek Mason is a sound defensive mind, being able to take care of the football is beyond paramount in this one. Again, it is all about Grimes and O'Neil getting on the same page early and often. What is important to understand is the only real positives that can be gleaned from this game are newfound composure, and potentially some depth. It is the warm-up before Alabama in Week 3.
So what Fickell, O'Neil, Grimes and the rest of the Badgers need to do is play and coach within themselves, and not let mental mistakes get the best of them. Let Middle Tennessee beat itself with one poor decision after another. This is the ultimate get-right game for Fickell and the Badgers, so they are best served not to squander it. Momentum is a real thing, so why not capture some of it?
For now, Wisconsin fans can only hope the Week 1 inconsistencies were merely first-game jitters.