There was some serious worry that Wisconsin was an imposter after beating Penn State. They didn't really deserve to win after a sloppy day of penalties and turnovers, but more than that, the Nittany Lions proved to be bad this season. Those two factors had fans worried heading into Michigan State. There was concern that the players thought they had already arrived and were going to be sleepwalking through Michigan State.
Yet, that wasn't the case. The Badgers finally started strong, continued strong, and finished strong. It was the best win of the year in terms of completeness of the game. Though you could argue it was the best period. It was Jacob Harris who put it all into perspective. He has the quote of the week when he said, "It wasn't like we won the Super Bowl last week." In other words, there was no letdown; the Badgers know they haven't arrived.
That may have been the money-maker part of the quote, but he said this as context: "As great a win as last week was, it does you no good if you don't continue to build on it." Luke Fickell had a similar line about how Wisconsin got ready for Michigan State.
"It wasn't like we won the Super Bowl last week."
— Karl Winter (@KarlWinterTV) October 3, 2026
Jacob Harris on the #Badgers' refusal to bask in the win over Penn State pic.twitter.com/qcW3R3DKrm
Luke Fickell said he was watching all week for players taking reps off
Related: Postgame Luke Fickell quote on Wisconsin's culture is what we've been waiting for
Fickell was also aware of the fear that fans had. He knows college players can ride the emotional high after a big win and not be ready the next week. Fickell said he was watching all week for players who had this mindset. "After a big win, you can get on the guys even a little bit harder." Fickell said, "I was on high alert (for players taking reps off or going through the motions). I didn't sense that this week."
Mason Posa even said that the Badgers worked even harder this week. He said they prepared more for Michigan State than they even did for Penn State. His point wasn't that they underprepared for the Nittany Lions, but rather that the Badgers were only taking the next step up. There was no "we've arrived" moment.
The reality is, the Badgers haven't arrived. They have four wins, which is equal to all of last season, but they haven't eclipsed it, so it's not that impressive yet. Wisconsin needs to find not only five wins but six, seven, eight, and even nine. Why not?
From Harris to Fickell to Posa, it seems like this team has the mindset to go further and further. Now the Badgers head into the bye week, giving them time to get healthy and prepare for potentially three ranked matchups in a row. As of now, each of the next three teams is ranked: No. 23 UCLA, No. 18 USC, and No. 14 Iowa.
If Wisconsin took a step forward from the Penn State win to the Michigan State win, let's see what they can do in the bye week and into the UCLA game. On Wisconsin!
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