For Luke Fickell, that win over Illinois was exactly what he had been dreaming about since the offseason: complementary football. In the post-game press conference, he said they beat Illinois in all three phases of the game, and that's why they won. Yet, in many ways, it was old-school Wisconsin football, and he even admits that in a classic quote.
Before we get to the quote, think about it this way. The major reason Wisconsin beat Illinois is because of impressive OLB play. There were five sacks and six tackles for loss and a ton of quarterback pressures. The Badgers also beat the Illini because of the running game; there were over 200 yards on the ground, and finally Darrion Dupree became Wisconsin's first 100-yard rusher of the season.
You could throw in the fact that the Badgers were also really good at special teams today, and that they won the time of possession battle.
Luke Fickell has now won two games this season on the back of old school Wisconsin football
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OLB play, special teams, time of possession, dominate run game? Wisconsin football is back. That win was about as old-school Wisconsin football as it gets. You don't have to look much further than the fact that the quarterback only threw for 75 yards, and yet the Badgers won by 17 points.
Luke Fickell realizes this: "The game is really difficult if you are going to have 16-play drives like we did in the first touchdown. I'm not saying they aren't great, I'm not sure how many minutes that was, but that's old school Wisconsin football." He then goes on to talk about Dupree's explosive 85-yard scamper for a score. Old school Wisconsin football has plenty of those, too. Running backs get past the linebackers, and they are home free.
It is interesting to see how Luke Fickell has adapted this season, and he's now won two games with Carter Smith at the helm, and the true freshman has thrown for a whopping total of 83 yards (in those two wins). Yet, against Washington, Wisconsin had stellar defense and 157 yards rushing. Against Illinois, it was stellar defense with 209 yards rushing. Wisconsin football is back.