Once again, another gut punch has come in for the Wisconsin football faithful. On Saturday, the hope was that the Badgers would be able to show some life and send a statement to the rest of the Big Ten in a showdown against Maryland at home.
Instead, Wisconsin was dominated from start to finish and the Terps just closed things out with a 27-10 win. Things started off in devastating fashion, with Billy Edwards Jr. leaving the game after only two drives - he was clearly rushed back too soon.
Luke Fickell's massive Wisconsin buyout now looking a lot less concerning
Fans have lost patience with Luke Fickell and they're not the only ones who are upset. Badgers legend Melvin Gordon didn't hold back with his thoughts on social media, making it clear that he hates the current state of the program. This is all on Fickell and his staff:
I don’t even know what to say at this point 😔 ‼️….. I feel for my brothers over there smh this is not Wisconsin football
— F L ⚡️ S H (@Melvingordon25) September 20, 2025
Melvin Gordon said what everyone was thinking about Wisconsin football against Maryland
This is not Wisconsin football. It's incredibly easy to agree with what Gordon said there, as we continue to see the Badgers look sluggish for four quarters. What's going on during practices? Fickell simply does not have his guys ready to go to battle and people are sick of it.
Against Maryland, more of the same was showcased by the Madison side. The offense couldn't get into any kind of a rhythm and the ground game was non-existent. Typically when a person thinks of the Badgers, a head-turning ground attack is featured with the big fellas owning play in the trenches.
The opposite has been the case for Wisconsin in recent years. New offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes was supposed to add some excitement to things after the Phil Longo hire proved to be a disaster. Through four games, Grimes is also letting people down.
For a while now, people have been calling for Fickell to be fired and his massive buyout is something fans are being less concerned about. The Wisconsin faithful are losing hope that better days are coming under Fickell's direction. When someone like Gordon calls things out like this too, you know the situation is flirting with rock bottom for the program.