In what fans were hoping to be a memorable season for Wisconsin, things have been far from perfect. The Badgers football team is 5-3 on the year, but they're 0-3 against ranked teams, losing to USC, Alabama and Penn State.
In his short time leading the team, Luke Fickell is 0-5 against ranked opponents. One of the big reasons the team has been so inconsistent this year has been because of the quarterback play. Starter Tyler Van Dyke went down early on against Alabama with a torn ACL, which was heartbreaking to see.
Since then, Braedyn Locke has taken over as the starter and he has left much to be desired running the offense. We hate to bring it up again, but his embarrassing pick-six played a massive role in the Nittany Lions leaving Madison with a victory.
Behind Locke, there's freshman Mabrey Mettauer, who has appeared in three games this year during garbage time. Despite the results behind center not being strong, Fickell claimed that he's still seeing a 'progression' from the QBs room. Sorry, but not a lot of people are buying that.
Luke Fickell has claimed he's seeing progress from the Wisconsin quarterbacks
"I like to say that I do see a progression of what they're doing. I'm out there. We're out there every single day. I sit in the quarterback room, and you can definitely hear a progression of what they're doing, whether it's Braedyn or Mabrey. But those kinds of things, until you get a chance to get out there and do it, are really hard to have a great idea of what it is that you got. "Luke Fickell
Fickell added that the lack of depth is a problem and it's something that's always going to be an issue for the team. However, we're not seeing enough out of Locke as QB1. He has proven since early on this season that he's not the future at the position, which is why the transfer portal might be where the Badgers decide to look for a new signal-caller.
Could we potentially see more of Mettauer as the season goes on? It's hard to say, as he's yet to even throw a pass this campaign. However, the more Locke struggles, the more people will be calling to see what the youngster can do. Regardless, if Fickell is saying he has seen improvement from the QBs room, we'd really like to see that showcased on Saturdays.