No doubt about it, this needs to be the year that Luke Fickell gets Wisconsin football back to its winning ways. Fickell enters his third season at the helm in Madison, hoping to do more than merely qualify for a bowl game. So far since coming over from Cincinnati, Wisconsin is 13-13 overall and 8-10 in Big Ten play. This record includes a win in the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bowl over Oklahoma State.
While he did explain in his weekly press conference on why the 2025 Badgers will not have captains, his opening statement was perhaps the most important. Fickell is a coach who had tremendous success previously at Cincinnati, going 57-18 overall over the course of six seasons from 2017 to 2022. UC was competing at the Group of Five level, but the Bearcats were outstanding under him.
If Fickell can replicate what he did at Cincinnati, Wisconsin will be back to contending in the Big Ten.
Luke Fickell wants this year's Wisconsin team to be more consistent
Fickell's opening statement in his weekly statement before the Miami RedHawks game was telling.
"Ultimately, Game 1 in particular, it's about focusing on yourself. And for us, it's about going out there. It's about us playing with some confidence and playing clean because we have a lot to prove to ourselves and a lot to establish as we continue to move forward, but it can't get here fast enough."
Here is everything Fickell said in his weekly press conference heading into the Miami (Ohio) game.
Miami (Ohio) is one of two very winnable games for the Badgers in the non-conference this season.
How can Wisconsin football get back to being more consistent in 2025
In his opening statement, Fickell was quick to praise RedHawks head coach Chuck Martin, who has become a coaching institution over in Oxford. Given that they are in-state of Fickell's alma mater of Ohio State, as well as his former employer in Cincinnati, he naturally has a ton of respect for that program. Miami can conceivably win the MAC this year with Dequan Finn coming back to the league.
For Wisconsin to get back to what it had been under previous coaching regimes, it starts with Maryland transfer quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. coming in and taking complete command of the offense. With former offensive coordinator Phil Longo taking over at Sam Houston, look for Wisconsin to run something far more pro-style under Jeff Grimes. Edwards can really sling it, too.
Beyond that, Wisconsin must prioritize running the football, as it is in the program's DNA. The other very crucial component is to play as one on defense. Anytime Wisconsin had been worth its weight in salt under previous administration, this was the recipe for success. Fickell may have done things differently at Cincinnati, but he has to accept that the blueprint to win big at Wisconsin is so obvious.
Fickell may want to be more consistent, but it starts with him embracing how to win big at Wisconsin.