Luke Fickell has his work cut out for him this season and college football media isn’t letting him forget it.
On3’s Ari Wasserman ranked the pressure Fickell’s facing at 10th-highest among all college coaches last week. Monday, Cleveland.com's rankings projected Wisconsin to finish 12th in the Big Ten, with Fickell receiving the most hot seat votes among all coaches (11). Tuesday, CBS Sports’ Cody Nagel ranked Fickell 11th of 18 Big Ten football coaches — a six-place drop from Fickell’s preseason ranking last year.
“No Power Four coach fell further in the national rankings last year than Fickell,” Nagel wrote. His tumble within the Big Ten is tied for the worst in the conference [with Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith].”
Fickell joined the Wisconsin football program in 2022 following six successful seasons as head coach at the University of Cincinnati. He posted a 57-18 overall record with the Bearcats, the most wins of any coach in program history.
Despite his prior success, the coach hasn’t brought the same caliber of results to Madison.
“What once seemed like a potential home-run hire back in 2022 -- and, honestly, most of them do, right? -- has instead resulted in a disappointing 13-13 overall record through his first two seasons. Not to mention ending the Badgers' streak of 22 consecutive years with a bowl appearance,” Nagel wrote.
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The Badgers finished 7-6 (4-2 Big Ten) in 2023, Fickell’s first full season as head coach. Wisconsin performed worse last year, posting a 5-7 (3-6 Big Ten) record.
In his third season at the helm, Fickell will have to navigate a tough schedule with games against conference contenders Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan and Illinois, plus Alabama out of the SEC.