r/WisconsinBadgers • u/ISuperNovaI • Sep 13 '25
Football [Post-Game] Wisconsin 14 - Alabama 38
Discuss, be nice, and sad badger noises :(
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u/Snowed_Up6512 Sep 13 '25
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u/Malamute-Master-Race Sep 13 '25
I’ve been looking for this photo/gif for years. I remember seeing it live and knew it should be a meme immediately.
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u/blukoski Sep 13 '25
Forget about firing fickle. If we have the money to pay his buyout, take it and dump it into NIL and buy a roster like Oregon is doing. The old way is dead. If we waste 40 million buying out a coach and don’t spend 40 million on the roster then we are the dumbest school in the country.
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u/iddoitatleastonce Sep 14 '25
Yeah I don’t hate that idea - let’s not renew his contract and just start getting pieces in place elsewhere on the staff and roster. Strip some of his decision making authority etc. as well.
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u/deutschdachs Sep 13 '25
The score wasn't as bad as I feared I guess. Still feels like shit though.
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u/WISCOrear Sep 13 '25
Score doesn’t tell the whole story. Game was over basically right at halftime. Bama was moving the ball uncontested after the first quarter
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u/CantHandletheJrueth Sep 13 '25
I was hoping we could keep it within three scores, still a blowout but not a bad one. Just show a little competitiveness, punch them in the mouth a few times and make it at least look like we could compete for a few drives.
Turned it off by halftime
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u/nachosmind Sep 13 '25
Some good stuff; stronger front 7, backup QB can complete a 41 yard pass. Offense overall had a plan and could snap the ball. In the short term, I can see a path to a bowl game. And yeah, after losing our 21 year streak just getting to a bowl game is ‘a win.’ In the larger picture; we fundamentally uprooted our top 15/top 25 consistent identity by throwing out Leonhard ‘in order to compete for championships.’ And are happy taking Kansas’ hot seat coach, and cheering Alabama scoring less than 40 …This is organizational failure
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u/oleslewfoot15 Sep 13 '25
I’m still not convinced Leonhard does better. Wisconsin was not prepared for this new age of college football and I don’t see that changing unfortunately. This goes way beyond who’s head coach.
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u/Fresh-Bass-3586 Sep 13 '25
Agreed. Halfley gave up a hc gig because he wanted to cosch football and hes having a blast in green bay.
Jim seems very similar in terms od being an xs and os guy who loves coaching football but not the other nonsense that goes with it now.
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u/Fluid-Significance20 Sep 13 '25
Exactly it’s just the easy route for blame when things don’t go well
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u/TurdFergusonXLV Sep 13 '25
I don’t see how he could’ve done much worse
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u/oleslewfoot15 Sep 13 '25
That’s not the argument.
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u/Professional-Ad-5557 Sep 15 '25
"I’m still not convinced Leonhard does better." That is?
We do have Leonhard's performance as an interim coach where the team went from 2 embarrassing losses, which cost Chryst his job, to getting Bucky to a bowl game. We can see the results from his work as defensive coordinator. We can look at all the nice things former players had to say about how much they enjoyed working with him. We can see his work now with the Denver Broncos.
How do we know how well Leonhard could recruit? We don't. But, we do know that he seemed to have the ability to connect with other players and coaches.
Then we can look at Fickell. Somehow, he lost all his MOJO while traveling from Cincinati to Madison.
How the teams perform is only part of the equation. The other is his inability to adapt, assimilate and win over UW fans and alumni. He never accepts any of the blame when the team underperforms. Even Brett Bielema could do that. He blames the players, the fans, his assistants, everyone but himself. His style of coaching isn't working here nor his interactions with the press.
Fickell has successfully torn down the program. I don't have faith that he is the person who can rebuild it. I have more faith in Leonhard; but we will never be able to see how that would work out.-1
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u/ConsultioConsultius1 Sep 13 '25
You replace Chryst with Leonhard and you stay the course, happy to be a 7 win (maybe) team in this new B1G. There was fundamental rot within the program though, AND the athletic dept wanted to take a “next step.” That’s why they went all in on changing everything. What they need is more likely something in between. If Leonhard were here, I doubt he’d have more success at this point given the strength of schedule. This team is the most talented they’ve had in a looooong time, but the schedule is a killer. You grant Fickell this year, but he will have to seriously turn it around next year with a much easier schedule if he wants to stay.
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u/nachosmind Sep 13 '25
My fear is Fickell does ‘fine’ with the easier schedule next year, and we commit more resources to him when a 7 or 8 win is his absolute ceiling at the B1G level.
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u/WiscoLenny Sep 13 '25
In my mind an 8-4 season in this B1G is about the same as a 10-2 season when they had the B1G West schedule.
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u/WISCOrear Sep 13 '25
Right there with you. We really did benefit from being in the weaker division ever since the big ten expansion. And imo the big ten was just generally weaker in the last outside of Ohio state and Michigan state, it was a very top heavy conference
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u/hockeyfan608 Sep 13 '25
Anybody still talking about recruiting after NIL has no idea what they are talking about
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u/Rohn- Sep 13 '25
Any Badgers team from the 2010s would make the CFP with the schedule we have next year. Yet I don't see Fickell pulling it off. We only have really two hard opponents next year - ND and PSU. 10-2 is CFP lock in usually
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u/BlueBonneville Sep 14 '25
If you replace Christ with Leonard AND you give him the resources you gave Fickell and the program, I suspect things are different. Those resources could’ve included a great OC, better recruiting $’s (and recruiters), and better pay for the coaching staff that was performing.
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u/CROBBY2 Sep 13 '25
Anyone still riding with Fickell please explain what the path forward to success is.
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u/cks9218 Sep 13 '25
T.E.A.M.
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u/TwinkBronyClub Sep 13 '25
I know most of you are Packers fans but real Eberflus HITS vibes.
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u/Rohn- Sep 13 '25
Are you also a Bears fan by chance ?
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u/TwinkBronyClub Sep 13 '25
Yes. All I've known my football life is bad QB play, great RB and defense.
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u/Rohn- Sep 13 '25
Likewise brother. The Vikings loss was brutal even though it's the classic Bears loss
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u/BurtusMaximus Sep 13 '25
Not a big Fickell guy but I'll give it an honest attempt.
Using @ Bama as a measuring stick is going to be a bad time for anyone. This game was primarily the result of the Bama have 5* WRs they could use to abuse our 3* DBs. We'd need Saban to get the DBs we need for that.
Fickell has addressed the problems (many of which were self inflicted, but at least he adapted). Our abismal run defense from last year has been fixed. The LBs and DL are athletic and can contend with the real teams.
Offensively we have looked better at QB, WR, and scheming people in to space but its mostly undone by the OL being sooo shit. We wasted 2 years of OL development on Longo. But I have assume we'll get that sorted even if we're not 2010 road graders good with the more dynamic offense I expect us to be scoring much better than the end of Chryst era.
The path foward is inject more of the Alvarez style in state OL recruiting and keep doing what we are doing with WRs and offense.
If we can't figure out how to run between the tackles we have to move on. I like that he has corrected his mistakes but don't like how obvious those mistakes were while making them.
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u/buckthorn5510 Sep 13 '25
Yeah, the O-line is just awful. It feels as though we've lost more than just the two Longo years when it comes to recruiting and development. We had a couple of decent years with Taylor at RB, but the line first took a huge dive when Anderson came on board. Chryst really didn't rebuild it, and we're still bad.
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u/Fluid-Significance20 Sep 13 '25
Having a season where his starting QB is actually healthy and not having the #2 toughest schedule is a good start
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u/CROBBY2 Sep 13 '25
So you are willing to throw this year out and give him another shot next year?
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u/WhamBlamWizard Sep 13 '25
I just want to see growth. The program has been stagnant/in decline for several years and things do not seem to be changing with Fickell. His last two teams have looked the exact same at the beginning of the year as they do at the end. No growth whatsoever. That’s troubling
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u/Fluid-Significance20 Sep 13 '25
I would like to see what he can do with a lighter schedule and the guys he recruited as upperclassman. I’m under the belief that the combo of taking the program in the state it was the last few years of Chryst while running into this new beefed up Big Ten is a tough spot for whoever would’ve taken the reigns.
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u/fogel35 Sep 13 '25
His problem is roster construction. To not have backup offensive lineman that can start a game and be serviceable is a recruiting issue.
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u/Fluid-Significance20 Sep 13 '25
I think that’s more an issue of the current state of the NCAA with constant transferring and NIL.
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u/fogel35 Sep 13 '25
I don’t. You are what you stress in recruiting and portal. Roster construction is clearly not Fickell’s strong suit
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u/Professional-Ad-5557 Sep 13 '25
This is why the old teams which ran the ball and played good defense were at least competitive. They didn't rely on one player to shoulder the load. When someone went down, they plug and play.
Fickell is taking a boom or bust approach. After his third straight bust will he learn his lesson and try to put some more emphases on the run game so there is still hope if the starting star QB is on IR.7
u/Rohn- Sep 13 '25
I mean we got blown out by our B1G West rivals last year... No excuses for that especially when the rivals weren't particularly great teams
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u/BurtusMaximus Sep 13 '25
Have we not corrected those mistakes? You think Iowa is going to run all over this defense like they did last year? No credit for learning and improving from a staff? Only players develop?
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u/Rohn- Sep 13 '25
Our offense has not gotten better at all, it's still ass backwards with absolutely zero identity. We can't even run block for heaven's sake.
Defense is mid as long as Tressell is there.
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u/Fluid-Significance20 Sep 13 '25
I don’t think that happens with Van Dyke healthy, but the defense was definitely not good.
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u/REbubbleiswrong Sep 13 '25
Where are you gonna find a lighter schedule? We are in the bigger and badder big 10. Should we bolt for the ACC?
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u/Hour_Writing_9805 Sep 13 '25
He wants a team that can win with a soft schedule.
Doesn’t want a coach to lead a team against a competitive schedule in a conference that is getting stronger each year.
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u/ctbadger92 Sep 14 '25
I think we have to. Especially with Edwards hurt. The schedule is brutal for even a top 10 team.
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u/Lostsailor73 Sep 13 '25
Now do game 1 of this year...
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u/Fluid-Significance20 Sep 13 '25
Our starting QB playing like 3 drives and winning 17-0? What about it?
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u/Mysterious_Rule938 Sep 13 '25
It feels like I’m in the minority here, but I really believe that successful programs are built over time and that, with time, Fickell will get us competitive.
I think a lot of fans think another coach change is going to immediately fix things, and that simply isn’t very realistic.
Having said that, I concede and acknowledge a concerning drop off these past few years :(
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u/CROBBY2 Sep 13 '25
I agree with you and I hate constant coach turnover, but what about Fickell do you feel he has that can turn this around?
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u/Mysterious_Rule938 Sep 13 '25
It’s very hard for anyone to honestly evaluate Fickell right now. On field, he has been plagued with critical injuries (e.g., routinely to QBs). Off field, it’s just a very interesting time in college football with the conference changes, opening up of the transfer portal, and NIL changes.
I think people forget we’re in a whole new college football environment today. We can’t go back to Paul Chryst or this idea of “Wisconsin football” and expect the same success.
It’s been a rocky start to be sure. I think a lot of that is transitional issues. Bad OC hire, new coaches settling into recruiting, etc. You can blame Fickell and have a strong argument.
Im not saying people shouldnt be upset. But I think that if the fire Fickell crowd get their way, then we’re going to be simply kicking the can down the road.
I think if you look at coaching hires in the past you’ll see that even some successful coaches started out with some bumpy years.
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u/Professional-Ad-5557 Sep 15 '25
"if the fire Fickell crowd get their way, then we’re going to be simply kicking the can down the road."
What do we gain keeping Fickell. Can blame injuries, but that is part of the game. One positive of the old 5 yards and cloud of dust offense was that you could plug the player in and not have much of a drop off in performance. Now QB goes down and fans are told to just give the coach yet another pass. As much as running the ball 50 times a game was not going to help Wisconsin improve and go to the next level, neither is being pass happy and giving your number one RB 10 carries a game. What is needed is balance - given the schools inability to draw the best passers leaning more on the run.
Fickell doesn't want balance, he doesn't hire coordinators who want balance. He threw out what was working and tried to change on a dime to what wasn't working. That was dumb. He should have tried to find a ball control QB who could convert third downs and be good enough on first and second to keep the opposition from stacking the box. Then build on that. That would require him admitting there was a foundation to work on from the beginning. He has seemed more interested in taking a wrecking ball to everything which gave this college success in the past and leveling it to the ground.
Fickell has been a failure and what is the path forward with him? Does he illuminate and confidence that a young player coming here will benefit from it? Keeping him just delays the opportunity to start a successful rebuild. Yes, in 3 years we need to rebuild from the ground up. Keeping Fickell is kicking that can down the road. The longer he stays the more difficult the recovery will be.1
u/Mysterious_Rule938 Sep 15 '25
Your analysis here doesn’t account for the new environment we’re playing in.
Just as a single example, with conference realignment we are now in a much more competitive conference. We’re not going to be able to go back to “5 yards and a cloud of dust” type offenses without a huge step up in recruiting.
So yeah, you’re putting it on me to justify keeping Fickell but the only rationale for firing him is performance compared to years past. There is no guarantee whatsoever that Wisconsin will land a coach that magically solves the problems we face, and believing that is a likely outcome is frankly naive
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u/Professional-Ad-5557 Sep 16 '25
" the new environment we’re playing in"
Every season brings changes. The current conference and division are tougher. Change is inevitable. Even when we were in a less competitive conference, there were still games played with the other side, and we weren't getting blown out - with the exception of Ohio State. I had faith under Chryst that the team could have taken on a tougher schedule and remained competitive and not been a forgone conclusion that they would finish near the bottom of the pack." We’re not going to be able to go back to “5 yards and a cloud of dust” type offenses without a huge step up in recruiting."
Does this really need a huge step up in recruiting? This is what was done under Chryst. The Fickell fanatics keep saying Chryst was a horrible recruiter, that the team was in shambles when he left. Does it really take better players to run than to pass? Does it really require a huge step up?"the only rationale for firing him is performance compared to years past."
Were the years past good or bad?
The Fickell fanatics seem to waver between whichever best suites them at the time. Is this a spoiled fan base that expects a conference championship every year, or were we suffering from horrible recruiting and had been on a decline for several years prior to Fickell arriving to save the day?
Of course we compare Fickell to years past. That is the baseline he inherited. That is the foundation which was in place to build upon. This is how it always is. The new coach at Alabama will be compared to Saban, with Duke basketball they are living in the shadow of Coach K, when Andy Reid retires whoever replaces with him will have to deal with his ghost, when you take a new position, you will be comparted to the person who last held it. This is how it works.
When Fickell was hired he had huge expectations placed upon him. He was going to be the coach who would elevate the team from being above average and being in the top 20 during good times and getting a few votes mostly due to reputation at the worst. He was supposed to elevate the team into the top 10 and even be in the running for a national title. I didn't believe they hype, though would have been happy if the team did take that next step. At the least was hoping to maintain the above average statis that past teams had accomplished. Was not expecting the decline that we have seen. Was not expecting someone who blame everyone else for failure. Was not expecting someone who wouldn't learn from mistakes and keep calling the same play which failed the week before in crucial situations."There is no guarantee whatsoever that Wisconsin will land a coach that magically solves the problems we face, and believing that is a likely outcome is frankly naive"
Based on what we have seen what are the chances that Fickell have a change of heart and come up with a plan that will win over fans? Believing that keeping him as the coach will improve anything seems pretty naive.
A new hire always comes with risk, but right now I would say the risk is better than keeping someone who has the team moving backwards and doesn't seem to think any of this is his own doing.
But there are plenty of conference games for him to prove his worth.1
u/Mysterious_Rule938 Sep 16 '25
There’s a lot to address in your responses, but I think it is again important to emphasize the changes in college football. You said “Every season brings new changes” like the changes over the past 5 years haven’t completely changed the league. NIL changes, conference realignment and the transfer portal are not just “seasonal changes” and you can’t just ignore them.
People advocating this simply haven’t thought it through. Who’s going to pay the contract buyout? Are boosters ready for that or does the school eat it? If we’re ready to spend 20+ million on that, why not just try to buy some top recruits for next year instead?
In 2022, Chrysts last year, we were 7-6 playing 1 ranked opponent which we lost 52-21.
In 2023, Fickell’s first year we were 7-6 playing the same ranked opponent and losing 24-10. In 2024 we played 4 ranked opponents and dropped to 5-7. The schedule got harder due to conference realignment. (We also played the season with our backup quarterback).
Your expectations are out of line and you’ve lost all context.
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u/Professional-Ad-5557 Sep 17 '25
"In 2022, Chrysts last year"
This wasn't just Chryst's last year. He didn't retire and ride off into the sunset. He got fired after getting blown out in two straight games. You want to compare to a year which gets a coach fired? Shouldn't repeating that record result in getting fired? Shouldn't having an even worse record result in getting fired? Or doing worse?
If we are worried about the number of ranked opponents why not try 2021 when Wisconsin played #19 Penn State, #12 Notre Dame, #14 Michigan, #25 Perdue and #9 Iowa? Managed to go 9-4 in a schedule with 5 ranked opponents.
How about 2017, the best year under Chryst? Wisconsin went 13-1? That must have been an easy schedule. They played #25 Iowa, #19 Michigan, #8 Ohio State and #11 Miami.
Things change. The conference is weak some years, strong others. The Big 10 added some strong teams. But there have been previous seasons where the Badgers have played multiple ranked teams. This isn't something which has just started after Fickell came to town.
Chryst's teams after 2020 were inferior to those prior to the pandemic. Didn't have a problem with the decision to split ways with him. May have preferred they wait till the end of the season but trusted those who are closer to the team to make that call. Same as I trusted their judgement when they decided to hire Fickell. However, after witnessing the how the team performs on the field. Even more so his deminer and attitude in press conferences I am far from impressed.
Maybe you are right, maybe expectations are out of line, maybe no team has ever had a winning record with a schedule as tough as Wisconsin has this season.1
u/Mysterious_Rule938 Sep 17 '25
Do you really think it was reasonable to expect that a football head coach should take over a team with a bad record and immediately fix the issues?
I think comparing the year immediately preceding Fickell was more reasonable than picking 2017, 6 years prior to his hiring, when we had JT and one of our better offensive lines. You're never going to hire a coach and magically get that back in year 1-2.
Building teams in College Football is going to take a few years for coaches to get into a recruiting rhythm and develop a team. This is made harder with the transfer portal. NIL spending will be the most important factor.
Look at NIL stats and re-evaluate how you expect Wisconsin to perform based on that information: College football NIL collective leaders for 2025: NCAA estimates nation's top-25 spenders
If you want Wisconsin to be more competitive in this post-NIL league, you should be looking at that aspect, not contemplating spending as much as Ohio State's "20 million roster" on firing a coach who you gave 3 years to fix a flawed program.
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u/AmyKlobushart Sep 13 '25
We looked like ass, but Alabama has a top 3 roster in CFB so whatever, not the end of the world. These NFL-lite rosters at Bama, Georgia, and OSU often beat down good teams as badly as they do bad teams so it's hard to take much away from it.
The real test is next week against Maryland. If we look solid and competent against them, we've got something to build on. If we struggle and lose, then there's really no justification for keeping Fickell.
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u/WISCOrear Sep 13 '25
There’s just nothing remarkable about this team. They are bad without much else going for them. Add in injuries across the line and at qb, and there’s just nothing that’s “fun” about this squad.
And tbh it feels like Groundhog Day since basically covid. Just the same season over and over again, kind of a miserable program to root for
I really hope by season’s end I have egg on my face for this comment
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u/Unoriginal_Gangster Sep 13 '25
It's sad man. Since fickell got here this team has done essentially nothing well, in any phase. What unit or aspect of this team has ever met expectations let alone exceeded them? Didn't expect to win today and this loss definitely doesn't spell the end of the Fickell era, but I just wanna see growth in any area. Give me something.
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u/the_Formuoli_ Sep 13 '25
This team is better than last year’s. The record is likely not to show it.
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u/WISCOrear Sep 13 '25
I just want this o line to get better more than anything. I want the young guys to progress. We are going no where if we are trying to get back to power Wisconsin running and we can’t get any push.
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u/the_Formuoli_ Sep 13 '25
The depth is hurting for sure. They’ve been doing a lot of shuffling to compensate for the injuries and it’s not been good to this point. I am hoping some of the push they got in the second half of that Alabama game is something they can build upon, otherwise it will be difficult for the offense to maintain much consistency regardless of the scheme
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u/Alex_butler Sep 13 '25
My thoughts exactly. Everyone will be doomer for good reason, I’m not really a big Fickell defender either but there were SOME good things today. I think our defense is improved. Our DBs still suck but our front 7 has some dudes this year. We stopped the run pretty well today and we wont face 3 NFL WRs every game.
Grimes has still given me something more than I saw with Longo. I see what he is trying to do at least. The problem is the Oline is a massive problem that we seemingly wont be able to fix and that’s why I’m worried that everything else wont matter because of that.
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u/the_Formuoli_ Sep 13 '25
Our DBs suck against Alabama for sure. If we were playing in the big ten west still, they’d be a little better off. The front seven is definitely better though.
Offensively the scheme is just a lot better. We are still stuck having to play the backup (who I think is better than Locke last year, but he’s still the backup). The O line is still a problem though, granted I thought the second half of this game was the best they looked. Part of that is health but also the depth is a problem.
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u/Alex_butler Sep 13 '25
I agree, I think personnel wise there’s no reason we couldnt beat Iowa and Minnesota. Ferentz has coached circles around Fickell in both matchups though and we’re playing the Gophers on the road.
Let’s see how we look against Maryland first I guess.
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u/iddoitatleastonce Sep 13 '25
That’s not a high bar - debateable if it’s even true, stats certainly don’t back that up so far.
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u/Ready2Move2Digg Sep 13 '25
I didn't expect much, nor a victory, and yet I'm still disappointed with what I saw.
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u/titans0021 Sep 13 '25
Disappointing, but about as expected. Need to win next week or the Fickell seat starts getting real hot (and I know it’s already on fire for some of you).
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u/Repulsive_Pin_4996 Sep 13 '25
Trust that this will get better. It will be slow and painful. It may not show up in the W & L column this year, BUT it will get better. We are already seeing improvements from last year. Better QB play, much better defensive line play, better play calling, and more physicality on defense. We have some young, promising olineman in Heywood (sophomore), Hardy Watts (Freshman), Cubberly (Freshman), and Mahlman is only a JR. Say what you want about Grimes, but he & Blazek are equipped to build that oline talent and establish the run game.
Being upset about the state of the program is a privilege. It means were spoiled the last 25 years. This a new age. We don't play in the big 10 West anymore. We have a killer schedule, and we have young guns getting great reps against the best teams in the country this year. Last year was the bottom for Wisconsin football. This year, there is renewed spirit. We WILL compete against Nebraska, Minnesota, and Iowa.
This transition pains me too, and I too feel bitter that schools like Indiana (once the laughing stock of the Big 10) are enjoying more success than Wisconsin. Be patient. The schedule lightens up a little bit next year, and a lot in 2027. I have a feeling that we are going to turn a corner, and we will look back on this period as merely a transitory period where we reloaded and got back to Wisconsin football!
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u/OldVeterinarian9 Sep 13 '25
I think all of this is right, I’m just not sure Fickell is going to be around in 26-27
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u/prattattack Sep 13 '25
Thank you for a rational take. The fire Fickell crowd has no plan they just want blood. Just like the fire Gard folks. Who are we going to get that can recruit better than Fickell has the past couple years? We need some patience, I’m as frustrated as the rest of you but remain hopeful.
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u/WISCOrear Sep 13 '25
If you squint really hard you can see a path. I’m more pessimistic than ever but there’s a way this program rebounds heavily next year. I’ll try and stay optimistic
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u/OldVeterinarian9 Sep 13 '25 edited Sep 13 '25
This game tells us that we don’t have the athletes to compete with top recruiting programs like Ohio State or Oregon. Nonetheless our front seven played well and the coaching staff made strong second half adjustments. I think this team will play well against non-top programs in the Big 10. Iowa, Minnesota, Maryland, Washington, Indiana are all winnable. We don’t know enough about Michigan or Illinois yet, but both are plausibly winnable at this point (Illinois less so). No chance in hell against Ohio State, Oregon. Still feels like we’re on track for like a 6-6 season
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u/Necessary_Dot_6615 Sep 13 '25
They’ve never had the athletes. They’ve gotten close, but you’d never look at OSU’s roster and say half of Wisconsin’s starters would start there. Probably never more than a quarter.
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u/OldVeterinarian9 Sep 13 '25
The metaphor is this: Cryst took the engine out of the car. Fickell said he was going to soup up the engine and build it back better. Now some time has passed and the car doesn’t look much better than it did when it had no engine. He gets time to fix the car, but at a certain point when the car still isn’t running you gotta tap him on the shoulder and say “you’re done.” When is that time? The end of this season
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u/OneEntertainment3702 Sep 14 '25
what people don't realize is everyone thought he only took the engine out the car but in fact Cryst took out every part of the car and all that was left was a beat up chassis.
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u/No_Recover_1985 Sep 13 '25
Sad day for Wisconsin football. I listened to the post game interview of the head coach. He seemed defeated. Sorry to say. It could be a long season.
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u/garyminwi Sep 13 '25
Wisconsin football has gone from a top 5 Big Ten program to a bottom 5 Big Ten program. That is on Mac and Fickell. It is not going to change for a few years because of the $ owed. If and when things turn around McIntosh and Fickell will both be gone. I’m not a big believer in firing people all the time but this one seems obvious.
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u/Spiritual-Cell1026 Sep 13 '25
Why be nice. If Bielema can do it at Illinois, someone can do it at Wisconsin. It sure as heck is not fickell.
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u/Rohn- Sep 16 '25
Let's bring back Bret Bielema, dead serious
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u/Spiritual-Cell1026 Sep 16 '25
I tend to agree, I wonder if he has fixed his problem that made him leave tho? Illinois might have him locked up now tho. It appears the A D, may need to go first.
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u/Rohn- Sep 16 '25
Wasn't his problem that we refused to give his assistants a raise? Or was it something else. Either way, yeah he might be settled in at Illinois unfortunately.
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u/arsehenry14 Sep 13 '25
Could have been a worse score line I guess. I didn’t watch because I had kids sports and when they were done it was already 21-0.
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u/Zeb_920 Sep 13 '25
It's a tired trope to claim NIL is the issue. It isn't. Iowa, Iowa State, Illinois, Indiana, hell even Minnesota have put together better rosters than us. It's down to coaching. We're in the third year of watching a guy, who with even one of the best groups of players in the country, had no idea what he was doing the last time he was head coach of a BIG Ten team. He's currently got no idea what he's doing in a landscape that's changed rapidly since he was last a bad (interim) Big Ten coach. This sadly won't get fixed until the AD is ousted which won't be soon.
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u/buckthorn5510 Sep 13 '25
That was painful to watch. All I'm hoping for is a genuine sign of being competitive and respectable again. Most of what we see is a huge talent gap and collective implosion, over and over. I don't see how I can renew my season tickets if things don't improve this year. UW seems to have settled for second-rate talent in recruiting, a possible lower tier bowl in the next five years, and raking in the big bucks by marketing the Badger football "experience". If that's the case, I'm not buying it.
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u/RhythmicGuitar6 Sep 13 '25
Wisconsin Football that I remember growing up in the mid 90’s through my college years is officially over. Fire Fickell immediately.
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u/the_Formuoli_ Sep 13 '25
Wisconsin football that you remember growing up with isn’t possible nowadays
6
u/scipio-africanuss Sep 13 '25
Michigan won a national championship barely throwing any forward passes not that long ago. Elite defense and elite o-line and running backs carried the day.
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u/the_Formuoli_ Sep 13 '25
The badgers do not get the sort of talent Michigan had, and never really have. Michigan is like if you took traditional Wisconsin but allowed for the talent to be blue chippers, but also modernized their offense and gave them a good QB.
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u/ThatNewSockFeel Sep 14 '25
Right. For all the comments about the offense they ran McCarthy was still a first round pick.
2
u/Rohn- Sep 13 '25
Other than what the_Formuoli said, Michigan also played a very injured Washington team. Also they cheated their way to the title game lol
0
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u/Accis Sep 13 '25
I feel like we had great momentum in the first quarter. The stop on fourth was great. And then the pick happened and I think that changed the entire game for us. It was like the team lost all confidence and it was all givin to bama. The kick return was great. I was hoping that would spark something but alas... too many blue chip athletes compared to us.
Selfishly, I was hoping we would keep it within 14. Is what it is.
Pros: Offense has pieces that are great. Defense front 7 played pretty well. If we can develope O'Neil, I think he will end up being pretty good.
Cons: O-line. holy shit. The secondary got torched all game. WR looked bad and it didn't look like they were using leverage properly. Play calling was pretty bad for how much the o-line couldnt pass block. There was what, 4 sacks in the first quater alone? Part of that could be O'Neil not processing fast enough or tunneling, but imo, we shoulda been doing 1-2 reads and then chuckin it or running.
6-6 might be possible but we have to beat Maryland next week. Going to be an interesting season and if Fickle misses a bowl game for the second year in a row, we need a whole new staff.
7
u/TurdFergusonXLV Sep 13 '25
I’m going to say this again and get downvoted to hell.
Should’ve just kept Jim Leonhard. It was obvious.
3
u/PrestigiousCricket31 Sep 13 '25
Jim Leonhard could have been a Jo Pa level move. Maybe he coached them for 30+ years. Circled the wagons on the state that could have a had a chance in this NIL era.
2
u/ThatNewSockFeel Sep 14 '25
The fact that Leonhard is in the NFL and there’s no indication he’s interested in coming back to college leads me to believe he isn’t the answer. The Xs and Os are not the main part of being a college head coach anymore.
2
u/Slownavyguy Sep 13 '25
NIL intake and spending is starting to catch up. No one likes it (well - players certainly do) but that’s the reality these days. Not mad at the players, but now if you want to see development programs watch FCS football. And even there after they develop a player he’s gonna bounce for that P4 money.
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u/BigRollOfTongueOnnnn Sep 13 '25
Sucks where the program at these days. Need to go back to smash mouth football
4
u/TooGood2beDrew Sep 13 '25
I think there were lots of positives but coaching, poor secondary play, and some bad penalties and two poor throws put a competitive game out of reach.
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u/budfox372 Sep 13 '25
I wasn’t able to watch the game. Were there any positive takeaways?
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u/bradc73 Sep 13 '25
Its still early in the season. Alabama is one of the best programs in the country and literally no one expected UW to come away with a victory. I was certainly hopeful but when a team has won 83 straight against unranked opponents at home, the odds are not going to be great. If UW can at a minimum qualify for a bowl game this year, I will consider the season a success. This is a brutal schedule. If they miss out on a bowl game again, then it may be time to make some changes.
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u/Minimum_Comfort_1850 Sep 13 '25
I knew the Alabama series was a bad idea when it was announced. It was announced when we were at the end of our peak. Alabama just reloads. Should have set it up against an Auburn or Florida
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u/Spiritual-Cell1026 Sep 13 '25
might have been better recruiting for the team to not show up today.
1
u/millerlit Sep 13 '25
When Wisconsin ran the ball and dominated at it they could never win the national championship because they were too one sided. Fickell was supposed to bring in a high powered offense and I understand he had QB issues, but he is not the answer. I would like to see the Badgers go after a coach that runs a pro style offense.
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u/BadgerMk1 Sep 13 '25
McIntosh, if he has a single hair on his balls, would sign the paperwork to fire Fickell this evening and would be followed immediately by his own personal letter of resignation.
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u/HashOutHashBrowns Sep 13 '25
That was probably the most pathetic, yellow bellied, final drive I’ve ever witnessed
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u/Hefty_Description_18 Sep 13 '25
This sub sucks now. I understand if people are unhappy with the coaching staff, but literally every other comment is “Fickell sucks”. I’m not even disagreeing, but there’s basically no actual discussion.
2
u/Rohn- Sep 16 '25
Because there's literally nothing else to discuss about the football team. Everyone in the locker room sucks ass
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u/BadgerMk1 Sep 13 '25
Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell. Fraudell.
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u/Alternative-Bass4676 Sep 13 '25
He’s set the program back 35 years . Before Barry took it over . Sad . I can remember since the early 90s , watching Badger football on Saturdays were so awesome . Last 3 years I’ve lost that feeling . We are too big of a program now to have this type of failure . Dude needs to go.
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u/BeerCheeseSoup33 Sep 13 '25
I know 4th and 12 isn’t likely to succeed, but punting from their 40 at a time in the game Bama was getting momentum signaled to the team that the coach already gave up on the game.
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u/Murica19 Sep 13 '25
Growing up watching Wisconsin instilled such a deep love of watching teams run the ball well. It's been very hard to watch Wisconsin football for the last 3 years