When does it stop being a coincidence? The Wisconsin Badgers thought they hired an ascending head coach when they poached Luke Fickell away from the Cincinnati Bearcats. Instead, they have ended up with their 21st century version of Don Morton. Very little, if anything, has gone right for Fickell in Madison. With another ranked opponent coming up in Michigan, it will likely be a bad loss.
Through the first two and a third seasons at the helm of Wisconsin, Fickell is a disastrous 0-7 against ranked FBS teams. Wisconsin did beat FCS power North Dakota State last year, but the Badgers are a Power Four team. During his first year on the job, Wisconsin lost to Ohio State and LSU. Last year saw the Badgers lose to Alabama, USC, Penn State and Oregon. They also fell to Alabama again in Week 3.
So with five more ranked teams left on the Badgers schedule in Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana and Illinois, how much longer is the athletic department going to let Fickell bleed out? We are looking at him potentially leading a 2-10 (0-9) team this season, as well as having gone 0-12 vs. ranked teams over the course of three seasons. Thus, there are so many reasons Fickell cannot create his own luck.
Luck occurs when timing coincides with preparation, and Fickell's teams hardly ever look prepared...
Luke Fickell is going to lose his job at Wisconsin for this one simple reason
Much has been made about Fickell not running an offense that works in Madison, Wisconsin. It has played a part in the Badgers not having the right kind of players to compete for much of anything at all in the revamped Big Ten. His coaching staff's decisions are baffling at times. However, it all comes back to the fact his teams are so woefully unprepared. No wonder why they start every game so slow.
If there are any saving graces with Wisconsin coming into this game, it is that the Badgers had a bye to get healthier. Billy Edwards Jr. better be ready to play a full 60 minutes as the greatest deodorant Wisconsin football has ever seen. Not only could Wisconsin be better on offense, but Sherrone Moore may not be all that great of a head coach. He has a true freshman as his starting quarterback.
Regardless of if you think Bryce Underwood will carve up this sorry Wisconsin defense like a Thanksgiving turkey just like fellow true freshman Malik Washington did two weekends ago in the Maryland game or not, Moore is unproven as a Power Four head coach. Michigan should play strong defense, but another slow start for the Badgers offense could put yet another game so out of reach.
In the end, the results on Saturdays prove to everyone watching Wisconsin football that Fickell and his staff do not do a good enough job of getting everyone on the same page during the other six days of the week. So when does it stop being a coincidence? The moment the Badgers decide this is no longer good enough, as they explore other head-coaching options in 2026 in a post-Fickell world.
Wisconsin hired Fickell to beat top-25 teams, not to come up dead every single time they play one.