Wisconsin Badgers football is currently in year two of the Luke Fickell era, and it has been off to a shaky start.
The offense, or lack thereof, has been the biggest concern over Fickell’s tenure thus far. Last Saturday’s 52-point offensive explosion against Purdue was promising, but it’s hard to ignore how uninspired Fickell’s offense has looked at times this season.
There was hope the Badgers could pull off an upset against the then-No.13 University of Southern California on Sept. 28 in Los Angeles. The Wisconsin Badgers had a 21-10 halftime lead over USC, but that feeling of hope and excitement was quickly smothered in the second half as the Trojans scored 28 unanswered points.
The collapse started when the Badgers muffed a punt return in the third quarter and the Trojans scored a touchdown to cut Wisconsin’s lead to four points. This proved to be the turning point of the game, as the Badger offense became lifeless and their defense could not stop USC. The Trojans scored on their next two possessions before USC linebacker Mason Cobb’s 50 yard pick six off of Braedyn Locke became the final nail in the coffin.
This was a frustrating loss for Badgers fans. Not only were they dismantled by Alabama in the week prior, but starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke suffered a season-ending ACL tear. Nonetheless, Wisconsin was in the driver’s seat in the first half against USC before everything fell apart in the final 30 minutes of the game.
It’s unfair to place all the blame onto Luke Fickell. This is also year two for offensive coordinator Phil Longo, whose decisions left many fans and former players scratching their heads in the third quarter against USC.
Wisconsin was putting together a nice drive following the muffed punt, and they faced a 4th-and-one situation at USC’s 33-yard line. Shockingly, the offense lined up in the shotgun formation and handed the ball off to Tawee Walker, who was promptly tackled behind the line to gain.
Badger alumni took to Twitter, voicing their frustration.
“CAN WE PLEASE GET OUT OF THE GUN ON SHORT YARDAGE…… MY GOODNESS,” Melvin Gordon said.
“I will never ever understand why you would go in the shotgun on 4th and 1,” former Badgers basketball player Frank “The Tank” Kaminsky III said.
“#BringBackThePower!” Jake Ferguson said.
Former running back Braelon Allen took to Twitter to say, “I’m gonna hold my tongue for now, but y’all gonna see me on a podcast one day explaining exactly what was going on my last season there.”
Former players are not the only ones upset. Badgers fans are also not pleased with the current state of their football team whatsoever.
“Nothing good about Wisconsin’s football program right now,” said one fan.
Another called out the coaching staff for having, “zero feel for the game,” One fan even went as far to call the Phil Longo era “the worst thing that could have happened to [Wisconsin’s] program.”
The Badgers faced a similar situation against Alabama. They were up 3-0 in the first quarter and had a chance to put some pressure on the Crimson Tide early. But, when they faced a 4th-and-1 at Alabama’s 39-yard line, the Badgers offense again lined up in the shotgun to hand the ball off to Walker. Once again, Walker was stopped short, and Jalen Milroe and the Tide scored on the ensuing drive to take the lead.
Wisconsin’s offense has not always been this stagnant. The Badgers averaged 29.1 points per game under the team’s previous head coach Paul Chryst. But under Fickell and Longo, the offense was averaging a measly 22.5 points per game before the Purdue game.
Locke and the offense showed flashes of greatness in last week’s win, but they will need to stay consistent going forward if Wisconsin is going to keep their bowl streak alive. Otherwise, fans may be in for a long season.
