As the Wisconsin Badgers prepare to host the No. 1 Oregon Ducks in primetime at Camp Randall Stadium, much of the outlook on their season has already been determined. The 5-4 Badgers have disappointed in head coach Luke Fickell’s second year at the realm.
But there are still three games left on the docket, and while the current state of Wisconsin’s football program may be grim, the games are played for a reason. The Badgers have yet another opportunity to beat a premier opponent against top-ranked Oregon. A victory on Saturday would be the signature win that would flip the script on an unfulfilling season.
If this type of talk sounds familiar, it should. Oregon is now the third top-five team to visit Camp Randall this season. Against the other two, the then-No. 4 Alabama and then-No. 3 Penn State, Wisconsin failed to capture the big win it so desperately needed. This Saturday, a final opportunity awaits.
But the way Wisconsin has played recently makes the chances of pulling off a major upset seem miniscule. In fact, the goal this week should be to survive without an embarrassment. If that cannot happen, the idea of bringing about serious coaching personnel changes will need to be discussed.
Coming off an eye-opening 42-10 squandering against Iowa two weeks ago, Wisconsin seems in complete disarray. The offense, led by a largely incompetent quarterback, hasn’t formed any sort of real chemistry. After years of consistent success, the defense has considerably regressed under new leadership. Two years into the Fickell era, Wisconsin does not have an identity and it seems more unlikely by the game they will find one at this point in the season.
All this with the nation’s No. 1 team coming to town? Certainly not ideal.
Over their last two games, Wisconsin’s offensive ineptitudes have been magnified. Quarterback Braedyn Locke continues to struggle, having thrown an interception during every game he has started this season. Locke threw a back-breaking pick-six against Penn State that turned the tide against the Badgers. Against Iowa, Locke’s two interceptions halted any sort of momentum. His eight touchdown passes on the season match the eight interceptions he’s thrown.
If Locke continues to trend in the wrong direction against Oregon, could changes be made? After all, the final two games could offer Fickell a look into whether true freshman Mabrey Mettauer is the answer for the future at the quarterback position.
Locke isn’t the only person who has felt the heat over the past week. Offensive coordinator Phil Longo was supposed to turn Wisconsin into a high-powered modern offense. But after his group's latest performance, questions about his future with the program have emerged.
Longo’s seat will grow hotter if Wisconsin’s offense continues its downward spiral.
On the other side of the ball, Mike Tressel’s defense has failed to find any sort of identity. Upon his arrival, the goal was to mesh the elite parts of former defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s scheme with what worked for Tressel at Cincinnati.
But thus far, it seems like Wisconsin’s defense is an identity-less, lost squadron. The 42 points his group surrendered in Iowa City was the most the Badgers had allowed to Iowa in almost 50 years. With a high-scoring Oregon offense led by Heisman-candidate quarterback Dillon Gabriel, things won’t get any easier.
However sideways things have gone since Fickell’s arrival, the head coach isn’t going anywhere. Athletic director Chris McIntosh isn’t going to give up on his signature hire after two years. And Fickell is fielding a team largely made up of players that former head coach Paul Chryst recruited. Fickell signed a seven-year contract back in 2022 and should receive at least four years to make things right at Wisconsin.
But for coordinators Longo and Tressel, the same comfort cannot be felt. Just because Fickell’s job is presumably safe doesn’t mean there isn’t immense pressure on him to win, and the lack of success on both sides of the ball could make Fickell rethink his vision for his coaching staff. He isn’t afraid of cutting ties with coaches when the time calls for it, as the letting go of former offensive line coach Jack Bicknell, Jr. last offseason showed.
A blowout against Oregon would further expose Wisconsin’s schematic weaknesses and put more pressure on Fickell to make changes.
Now more than ever, Wisconsin runs the risk of falling into a deep pit of mediocrity. If things don’t change on both sides of the ball, why should Longo and Tressel’s jobs be safe? Would Fickell really feel comfortable sticking with a system that for two seasons has proven ineffective?
“There’s going to be a lot of guys, myself included first and foremost, that are going to have a self-check, and look in the mirror, and really kind of self-evaluate what they’re willing to do moving forward,” Fickell said after the Iowa loss.
If Wisconsin cannot avoid an embarrassment against Oregon, Fickell will have to start making some tough decisions. The self-check he talked about a couple of weeks ago may come down to the gutting reality of cutting ties with the key staff he brought to Madison.
