After finishing No. 16 in the Big Ten last season with a 5-7 (3-6) record, Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers are ready for a fresh start.
Unfortunately for Fickell, analyst opinions haven’t offered much of a confidence boost.
On3’s Ari Wasserman ranked Fickell No. 10 among college football coaches facing the most pressure this season. Fickell led conference coaches with 11 votes for him on the hot seat, in Cleveland.com’s Preseason Big Ten Football Rankings, released Monday.
Luckily for Badger fans, Wisconsin is projected to improve compared to last season, ranked No. 12 by voters with 159 points. However, they did receive an unspecified number of last-place votes, along with Maryland, Northwestern and Purdue, who together were the worst four teams in the conference in 2024.
Wisconsin used to be a consistent strength in the Big Ten, but things began to slip up in 2022 under former head coach Paul Chryst. When the Badgers got Fickell to replace him, it seemed like Wisconsin could become national contenders once again.
Despite his coaching resume, Fickell hasn’t produced results in Madison. The Badgers finished 7-6 (4-2 Big Ten) in 2023, his first full season as coach and performed worse the following year. Fickell has a 13-13 record at Wisconsin, and a 76-38 overall record that includes six seasons in Cincinnati and one at Ohio State.
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In 2025, the coach will have to work a tough schedule to prove himself, with games against notable conference opponents Michigan, Ohio State and Oregon, as well as the SEC’s Alabama.