With the way Wisconsin has looked in recent years, we wouldn't have blamed anyone if they thought a deflating loss to Michigan State might be on the way in Week 5. Instead, the Badgers absolutely dominated on both sides of the ball, recording a 31-3 win. No one loved that more than head man Luke Fickell, but in a good way, he's still not satisfied.
Yes, Fickell is fired up that his team is 4-1, but he also knows that there's still a lot to clean up with the heart of Big Ten play on the way. This is something he'll echo throughout the locker room, but it speaks to the big change in culture we're seeing in Madison. That's obviously a good thing.
“We’re growing,” Fickell said without hesitation. “I think we understand what it means to learn to grow and to apply it. I think that’s where we have the makings of, ‘hey, this is what culture looks like.’ We have a long way to go, but I feel like these guys understand that we do have leadership that gives us a chance.”
Luke Fickell knows there's still plenty to clean up following the win over Michigan State
For the Wisconsin faithful that have stood by this team, those words from Fickell sure mean a whole lot. The culture indeed is changing in a head-turning way in Madison, as Fickell has people thinking that the glory days could be coming back sooner than we thought, which is the last thing people had on their minds in 2025.
Straight up, the Badgers were a mess last season and the calls for Fickell to get fired continued to grow louder and louder. Following the loss to Minnesota in late November, the Badgers closed the campaign at 4-8, which was completely unacceptable.
With Notre Dame trouncing the Badgers to open the new season, it sure felt like more of the same was on the way for Fickell and Wisconsin in '26. Instead, this group has been able to put together four straight wins, highlighted of course with the back-to-back victories over Penn State and Michigan State, respectively.
Now in order for this culture shift to keep on going here, we've got to see Wisconsin continue to answer the call in the coming weeks with some big games on the way. This of course will include Colton Joseph needing to keep growing as well. While his 141 rushing yards vs. the Spartans was incredible, completing 9-of-20 pass attempts for 141 yards isn't ideal. Joseph throwing for three TDs, though, can't be ignored.
After the final whistle, Fickell was quick to say Joseph delivered for him, but he needs to see more out of him moving forward. That will begin with UCLA up next on the schedule following the bye week. That will be a great test for this new-look Badgers team, and another win to improve to 5-1 will only have more people ready to fasten their seatbelts on the Wisconsin bandwagon once again.
Add us as a preferred source on Google