Wisconsin is on the verge of losing prized recruit to the team they are about to play

The bottom is starting to fall out of the wet paper bag that is Wisconsin football, if it has not already. The losses are starting to mount up for Luke Fickell's football team. The Badgers are 2-4 on the season, 0-3 in Big Ten play and have lost every game they have played vs. Power Four competition. It has resulted in them currently riding a four-game losing streak heading into their Ohio State game.

To make matters worse, not only is Luke Fickell about to get curb stomped by his alma mater's team at home, but he is on the verge of losing a top-flight recruit to the Buckeyes this week. Ohio State Football Recruiting shared on X that On3 has Wisconsin running back commit Amari Latimer on the verge of flipping to the Buckeyes this week. He is a four-star recruit from talent-rich Greater Atlanta.

This would be a devastating for Wisconsin ahead of what will likely be another referendum of a game.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Latimer is the No. 24 running back in his class, the No. 40 high school player from Georgia and the No. 379 player nationally in the 2026 cycle. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound running back from Sandy Creek High School has been committed to Wisconsin since late June. He has 47 offers, including from Ohio State. The only other school he visited was Georgia Tech.

Latimer's potential possibility of flipping is more in line of what has gone wrong under Fickell of late.

Luke Fickell losing a commit to his alma mater Ohio State is bad business

This is not about Wisconsin potentially losing Latimer to Ohio State or whatever. It is just more of the same under Fickell. Unless there is a borderline Power Four player, why would anyone want to commit to play for this mess in Madison? Yes, if there are players with familial ties to the team, the region, or whatever, that is totally justifiable. But why would Latimer want to leave Atlanta to go play for Fickell?

Truth be told, if and when the university decides to rip the smelly band-aid off that is their head football coach, things will improve. It does not matter what they are selling. It could be good, bad or another shade of ugly. All it will be is different, and that is better than whatever it is Wisconsin fans have had to stomach for 2.5 years under Fickell's watch. The more you lose, the more it hurts you.

In the end, having an Ohio State offer is one thing, but committing to the Buckeyes is another animal. It is the preeminent program in the country for a reason. When are the Buckeyes ever bad? The only time they have been a hot mess this century has been during the one year Fickell led them in the interim between the Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer eras. That is really all you need to know right now.

The longer this is allowed to continue in Madison, the worse it will get for this poor football program.