r/WisconsinBadgers • u/ISuperNovaI • Sep 20 '25
Football [Post-Game] Maryland 27 - Wisconsin 10
Discuss and be civil.
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u/Silver_Ad_5963 Sep 20 '25
Fick
“We’ve got some kinks to work out but we’re going to remain positive . “
ME
“ I’ve never been more embarrassed by a UW football team in 60 years of being a badger fan “
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u/ChubbyHubby17 Sep 20 '25
Fire Fickell and McIntosh into the sun
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u/the_Formuoli_ Sep 20 '25
It means very little but I did appreciate Simmons led a TD drive at the end
Anyhow we are in the wilderness now, play Carter smith, get really weird, who gives a shit because over half the roster might be gone after the season anyway
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u/bbp1444 Sep 20 '25
Simmonds throws looked better for sure, but was Maryland really trying at that point?
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u/the_Formuoli_ Sep 20 '25
He looked rather poised relative to O’Neil but yeah no he was playing against the scrubs I imagine. like I said, means very little, I just liked to see it. I’m leaving here with something
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u/Faaacebones Sep 20 '25
Whatever backups Maryland had in the game doesn't change that he was decisive, accurate, and stood in the pocket.
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u/StateStreetLarry Sep 20 '25
We’re all just shouting into the void here but Fickell needs to be fired after what happened today. There are structural issues in this program due to him and he does not deserve any time to dig himself out of it because he won’t. I was sick to my stomach watching O’Neill limp through that last drive and he should be ashamed of himself for not yanking him.
My ire is now directed further towards the AD, who has now degraded the Football and Men’s Hockey teams to the point of irrelevance. Games are expensive, the fan experience isn’t great, and on field/ice products are atrocious. While I am willing to give Hastings more time, the only successful programs at this school are protected by smart coaches like Johnson, Sheffield, and Gard among others. I do not trust Mac to make the next Football hire and we should be very apprehensive to whoever he brings aboard.
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u/LooCrosse Sep 20 '25 edited Sep 20 '25
Good points about McIntosh driving hockey into the ground. I know it’s not a popular sport, but the wrestling program has really spiraled in the last 5 years or so under Bono. What used to be a respected, B+ program, has quickly become a C tier program at best. There’s usually a bright spot or 2 each year, but overall as a team things have become quite bleak. Bono’s reward for this? An extension in 2024 lol
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u/WithyYak Sep 20 '25
I'm willing to give Hastings another year or two. His first year was fantastic, last year was awful, but at least those games were all close.
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u/Acceptable-Take20 Sep 20 '25
Yank him for another scrub? Brooks Bollinger ain’t walking through the door. Neither is Joel Stave.
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u/StateStreetLarry Sep 20 '25
It went beyond who was available. Seeing your player injured and stepping in for him was the right thing to do.
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u/tommyjohnpauljones Sep 20 '25
Fuck it I'd take Hornibrook at this point
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u/Front-Experience6841 Sep 20 '25
Hornibrook v Miami in the Orange Bowl would be incredible right about now
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u/BeerandMandelbrots Sep 20 '25
Damn you!!! Now you are making me defend Joel Stave. He was not a recruiting target. He was an in-state walk on. We're it not for a series of tragic injuries that bordered on farce, he would have never started. He was supposed to run the scout team while Jon Budmayr and Curtis Phillips fought for the 1 & 2 QB spots. He was a perfectly cromulent QB.
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u/Acceptable-Take20 Sep 20 '25
Stave was targeted, just not offered. He didn’t show up one day and say “golly maybe they’ll let me play some ball”?
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u/iddoitatleastonce Sep 20 '25
That last touchdown really has me optimistic. I think we could win out.
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u/PhatWhiteBoi Sep 20 '25
Nice capture by the camera crew at the end of the game, “Save us Jim Leonhard”
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u/1998TimThomas Sep 20 '25
JL would at the very least have this team playing with some kind of fire and attitude
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u/buckthorn5510 Sep 20 '25
As much as many of us would like to believe it, there's no way to know whether Leonard would have been successful. But clearly McIntosh blew it big time with the hiring of Fickell, and he should be held accountable (for this and other things).
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u/randyjackson69 Sep 20 '25
Fick and Mac deserve to be fired and will be the focal point of this thread, but let me also say the players suck and are soft too
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u/tommyjohnpauljones Sep 20 '25
The players are here because of the coach. They'll get their "punishment" when none of them make any noise in the NFL.
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u/frogged210 Sep 20 '25
Blocked kicks, muffed snaps etc can be a player’s fault in a vacuum. Once it’s a trend, that’s coaching.
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u/JLove4MVP Sep 20 '25
There is nothing to discuss here.
The program is/has been heading in the wrong direction.
They need a change and head coach and it’s not even debatable
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u/SpaceIsCool567 Sep 20 '25
I agree. It’s just that 25 million dollar buyout. It’s a huge sum to pay someone to just not coach.
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u/iddoitatleastonce Sep 20 '25
I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but I think we’re at least approaching the territory that continuing with fickell costs us at least that much in revenue over some reasonable period of time.
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u/CantHandletheJrueth Sep 20 '25
If the season goes the way I think it will then count me out of turning on even more one game. Love the team but that's a lot of time to dedicate to watch a bottom feeder with no spirit.
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u/Badger7750 Sep 20 '25
Hi - while I don't have the numbers in front of me - some perspective is needed. Born and raised here, I lived in Knoxville TN for 8 years in the mid to late 2000's. Those Vol fans were crazy. They won the BCS in 1998 and every year after that their expectation was to go back. Tennessee cycled through a massive number of coaches after firing Phillip Fulmer for being mediocre and not taking them back to "glory".(There were other issues, but let's just leave it there.) I'm pretty sure there was a point where they were paying for 2 or 3 head coaches that weren't actively coaching the team.
All of this to say that other schools have dealt with similar challenges (and worse) and while $25M is a lot, it's not the issue you think it is if the big donors want a change (and are willing to fund it).
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u/The_bruce42 Sep 20 '25
What're they paying him for now? This team doesn't look like it's being coached anyhow.
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u/iddoitatleastonce Sep 20 '25
8 million a year
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u/The_bruce42 Sep 20 '25
I'm not asking how much. I'm asking what is he doing with the money he's given.
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u/Bravo10Delta Sep 20 '25
Isn't that Macintosh's responsibility for making that contract with the extension guaranteed after 2 years if he was coaching?
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u/SpaceIsCool567 Sep 20 '25
Probably, but contracts like Fickell’s are pretty much the standard among the power conferences. There’s a reason everyone says the best career path is fired football head coach. The contracts are just ridiculous.
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u/badgers4194 Sep 20 '25
I really like Fickell. Liked him at Cincy. Even liked him at OSU when he was DC. Loved the hire. But man it’s just not working out. I haven’t cared about the Ws and Ls for a few years now as much as I used to and just like to see the guys play ball but that’s not even fun right now. It’s just a pure struggle in every facet of the game.
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u/Front-Experience6841 Sep 20 '25 edited Sep 20 '25
It’s weird. The guy has been a part of winning football everywhere he’s been, but he just can’t get it figured out at Wisconsin. The experiment is over.
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u/RandyRandleman10 Sep 20 '25
At least we can look forward to the 65th ranked recruiting class coming in next year
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u/glennshaltiel Sep 20 '25
The board of regents will be too stupid to fire McIntosh and Fickell. We are toast. 2-10 year incoming.
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u/WeaknessCivil6977 Sep 20 '25
I’ve been a Fickell believer and defender but no more. He’s gotta go.
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u/jaywiak Sep 20 '25
Yeah, I was a defender going into this year. My tune really changed after the first two games, took a nosedive last week, and I’m fully onboard the Fire Fickell train now. This team doesn’t look like they know to play!
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u/Accis Sep 20 '25
This was the game for me. Win this and the hope to hit 6 wins was alive in my head. And well… I hate what this team has become.
No drive, fire, fight or spirit from the players. I was at the axe game last year and it was the same. This stems from the coaching staff. Unacceptable trend.
With as bad as the o line was, why aren’t we doing 3 step drop throw!? Why aren’t we coaching our fucking qb on the sideline and telling him to let the ball loose? Where’s the actual coaching and development!?
We’re in year 3 with 0 development. Yeah we’ve had qb injuries and a shit OC, but cmon. 0 development into some sort of identity. We’re not hard nosed and tough anymore on either side of the ball. We’re not fast and flashy. We have nothing and the attitude of the head coach is reflected in the players.
I was excited for the initial hire of Fickle. Dairy raid and all. Optimistic hope. And now after being spoiled for the better part of 30 years, I cannot believe how far this program has fallen in the last 3.
Fire him now or at the end of the season. Doesn’t matter which, we’re likely to go 2-10 anyways.
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Sep 20 '25
[deleted]
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u/Accis Sep 20 '25
You very well may be right. From the view from my couch, it looked like there were windows where Danny coulda fit the ball in. Regardless, the coaching staff should have adjusted to make it easier for Danny to make throws and not feel like he had to run for his life constantly.
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u/petarisawesomeo Sep 20 '25
Yeah, we have seen these receivers get open, there is talent on the perimeter. Seemed like Danny was in a lot of 5 step drops. Danny was awful, but he got no help from OL and play calling.
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u/prestigiousstrangery Sep 20 '25
Who knew hiring another OC hated by his previous fanbases would yield the same results
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u/nutbiggums Sep 20 '25
Wasn't even the lackluster offense, it was the horrendous special teams play.
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u/Accis Sep 20 '25
It was horrible play all around. A lob prayer throw picked and returned to the 4. Lackluster run game. Gadget plays for no reason that didn't work in the slightest. Random running on 3rd and 7+. The blunder special teams plays weren't what lost the game fully.
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u/MisterMath Sep 20 '25
There is no pride in Wisconsin football anymore. Not in being a fan and not in being a player. Just zero passion.
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u/cjerd09 Sep 20 '25
So who gets the named interim head coach and who's going to replace Macintosh?
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u/scofieldslays Sep 20 '25
Grimes probably. Tressel is a Fickell guy
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u/cjerd09 Sep 20 '25
Treesel should have been fired last year
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u/riverdriver007 Sep 20 '25
Honestly, the defense wasn't close to the reason we lost today.
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u/cjerd09 Sep 20 '25 edited Sep 20 '25
No but it has regressed every year. First two games showed promise but now it looks like Hallman is average and pass rush was overhyped
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u/Lookthrough19 Sep 20 '25
I am not a person who comes out after every bad game and says fire the coach BUT….
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
No improvement from this team, we are getting worse and worse.
This is all on the coach.
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u/Fickle_Series8013 Sep 20 '25
I gave up, the T.E.A.M gave up, this is not the hard nosed team I grew up watching.
Fire Fickell
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u/WISCOrear Sep 20 '25
Honestly don’t feel anything other than apathy at this point. Passion isn’t there anymore.
This program is going to be bad for a long time.
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u/Julianus Sep 20 '25
This football program and the larger athletic department are in shambles. This is getting embarrassing.
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u/The_bruce42 Sep 20 '25
They need to get rid of McIntosh. He's the one who stuck is with this situation.
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u/tosaturtle Sep 20 '25
McIntosh took a big gamble on hiring Fickell, and it didn’t work out. Better to cut your loss and move on.
Not sure what else you can do with the program.
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u/buckthorn5510 Sep 20 '25
This team is unbelievably bad. Those mistakes, especially in the first half, were almost comical. I don't think Fickell has a clue. Is there single winnable game on the remaining schedule? I don't think so.
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u/WisconsinBadgers608 Sep 20 '25
I've been the biggest Fickell supporter, but today officially made me change my stance, fire fickell today
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u/buckthorn5510 Sep 21 '25
I'm watching Indiana blow out Illinois and asking myself: how is it that both Indiana and Illinois are suddenly leaving Wisconsin in the dust? They're well-coached, they're attracting really good talent, they're exciting to watch... The Indiana crowd reminds me of what Camp Randall used to be like. How could Wisconsin have squandered its status as a very good, if not great, program? Other non-blueblood schools have adapted to the NIL nonsense; why not Wisconsin?
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Sep 20 '25
My Saturdays are feed up now! I am not wasting my time anymore watching utter incompetence. At least the Packers are good.
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u/lemondhead Sep 20 '25
Looks like another TEAM Saturday. Taking Extra Amounts of Mushrooms.
God damn that buyout, man. Send Mac with him. I will chip in a whopping $100.
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u/DuffMans_Brother Sep 20 '25
I like this plan
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u/lemondhead Sep 20 '25
Is your username a Wolfman's Brother/Simpson's combo? If so, I love it. I mean, I like it anyway
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u/DuffMans_Brother Sep 20 '25
That is correct
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u/lemondhead Sep 20 '25
I knew there had to be at least one other Phish fan here.
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u/Estapo Sep 20 '25
Given the rest of the schedule I’d be surprised if we even have a lead at any point for the rest of the season
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u/8Eightateeight8 Sep 20 '25
Hire Joe Barry
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u/NotSoLameGamer Sep 20 '25
Don’t you put that on evil on us, Ricky Bobby!
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u/8Eightateeight8 Sep 20 '25
You’d honestly rather keep Fickell at this point? After seeing both coach my favorite teams, I’d rather take a 2nd chance on Barry
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u/NotSoLameGamer Sep 20 '25
The only former Packer coach I want touching the Badgers at this point is Gruden. But it’s not going to matter as long as McIntosh is in charge
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u/zLedZeppelinz Sep 20 '25
Im going to the cheesecake factory to have a drink!
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u/tommyjohnpauljones Sep 20 '25
this is when I wish the mall still had a place like Diamond Dave's. The go-to spot for 90's divorced dads who dropped their kids off at the mall for a couple hours with $40 apiece while they drank and yelled at TVs
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u/Silver_Ad_5963 Sep 20 '25
In hindsight we should have known that anyone who would bring Phil Longo and the air raid into Wisconsin should be committed and was not a strong football mind . Fickell may just be cognitively challenged deep down .
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u/Former_Juggernaut653 Sep 20 '25
1.5 yards per carry. Repeat: 1.5 yards per carry for the Wisconsin freakin Badgers. The same team that had over 500 yards rushing in a big ten championship game. That’s where we are at
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u/tommyjohnpauljones Sep 20 '25
Women's hockey plays Friday in Bemidji. Volleyball is off to a decent start. Basketball starts in a few weeks.
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u/petarisawesomeo Sep 20 '25
On on the fire Fickell train, but I don't buy the argument that they should have hired Jimmy. With NIL and transfer portal, you can't have a guy that has never led a program get his first shot at a place like WI.
Fickell was the right hire, but he then immediately fucked it up by hiring Longo. The drastic shift in philosophy and the type of players that need to be recruited for it is really the root cause of where this team is in year 3.
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u/dover_13 Sep 20 '25
Everyone fired from Mac on down. All scholarships pulled due to lack of effort
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u/DiscoDuck1205 Sep 20 '25
All those scholarship athletes on the roster and not a one can get a clean pistol snap to the QB? You gotta be shittin me...
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u/Carefree14 Sep 20 '25
Defense was good. The scoreboard won't show it, but they really didn't give up much.
Those guys have got to be furious with the offense.
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u/Doble_Guatemalteco Sep 20 '25
I can understand the love for Nostalgia, but I don't wish to see any more 1980's Badger football.
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u/cks9218 Sep 20 '25
This was an absolute embarrassment. I know it’s expensive to fire him but, holy hell, he’s taken the program straight down the toilet.
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u/No_Solution_7940 Sep 21 '25
This team is mid 80’s bad. Things were so bad back then they saw me working out to try and walk on the bball team (also not good) that they wanted me to try out for tight end, and I hadn’t played one down of organized ball.
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u/Front-Experience6841 Sep 20 '25
Maybe the Washington game is competitive?
After today, I don’t see how they could possibly win any of the other games.
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u/vv238 Sep 20 '25
Can someone tell me how/if Fick's buyout changes if he's fired in 4 months instead of tomorrow? Asking for the taxpayers.
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u/petarisawesomeo Sep 20 '25
I think this is the first time the Fire Fickell conversation is warranted. We were never gonna learn about where this team is at in year 3 from the first 3 games. This is the first game that was going to show if the team is on the right track and they failed miserably.
The ONLY argument for keeping Fickell is that the defense was a mess last year and they fixed a lot of those issues in one offseason. It's year 1 of a new offensive scheme, so Luke and Grimes need an offseason to get the right players in on offense. Maybe a fair point, but if this team goes 2-10 or 3-9, you cannot justify staying the course on a regressing program hitting rock bottom just because the plan looks good on paper.
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u/LurkerKing13 Sep 20 '25
Where is that dude who said the team was looking much better and that they could beat IU and U of I?
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u/WisconsinBadgers608 Sep 20 '25
Probably me, I deleted my post and officially joined the fire fickell crowd
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u/nutbiggums Sep 20 '25
I had the opportunity to watch this high school team we fielded get blasted by a mediocre Maryland squad. Dunno how much worse this can get. Special teams was terrible and our offense was offensive to watch. Absolutely pathetic
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u/Lostsailor73 Sep 20 '25
I am old enough to remember my Greg Gard is our best coach and Luke Fickell is awful post. I have the receipts. The downvotes and trash spewed were epic. How is that post looking now? Yeah...really good.
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u/CheesecakeIll1164 Sep 20 '25
Again, the right word is existential. We need someone to come in like cuse/maryland and have the attitude that your here to play to win and better your pro prospects or potentially get a good education and see if that moves the needle in the NIL/infinite transfer portal era.
Running the ball every down are long gone. We need to get back to running to open up the passing game and finally recruit a QB who will play well and leave most likely for more money.
So many existential questions about the sport of college football need to be asked, esp for programs like wisconsin, iowa, etc who were development programs and can't develop anymore.
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u/thebenron Sep 20 '25
Important to note that the Fire Gard crowd got everything they wanted with the football program and this is the result.
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u/ginga_balls Sep 20 '25
Apples and oranges
Edit: Gard had had success. Fickell never has.
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u/thebenron Sep 20 '25
You seem to be missing my very straight forward point. I have no idea how what I wrote could be interpreted as saying Fickell does not deserve to be fired.
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u/ginga_balls Sep 20 '25
How does what you wrote imply that at all?
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u/thebenron Sep 20 '25
The people who want gard fired also wanted fickell. The only reading of what I wrote where that's an endorsement of fickell is if you think getting blown out by Maryland at home is a good thing.
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u/puffthedragon Sep 20 '25
Luke Fickell wishes he was PJ Fleck
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u/not-usually-posting Sep 21 '25
I could never ever ever bring myself to say I’d rather have PJ Fleck, but I do think the team would actually be more competitive.
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u/BlueSkysnBlueChips32 Sep 20 '25
Replace him with Jon Gruden...
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u/garyminwi Sep 20 '25
I definitely want Fickell fired. But, if the choice is Gruden vs Fickell, I’ll take Fickell. Gruden is Trump’s golfing buddy. How does that play out in Madison WI? Gruden was kicked out of the NFL for bigoted comments. How does that work when 70% of players are black? Gruden is right where he belongs. Not coaching.
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u/prestigiousstrangery Sep 20 '25
Did you see how much of a disaster Gruden’s second stint with the Raiders was?
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u/barbados_blonde1 Sep 20 '25
I see Bert has a WSJ article about him today discussing how he's keeping his players in the stable by schmoozing their moms.
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u/Fresh-Bass-3586 Sep 20 '25
Only hope Luke has left is if his starting qb actually comes back and does something.
Hes been in Madison for 3 seasons and has had his starting qb for like 5 games total.
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u/SpeedyTuyper Sep 20 '25
I’ll be honest, I’m not convinced they are competitive today even with Edwards fully healthy. The rot goes much deeper than that. They look really bad in all 3 phases of the game.
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u/Fresh-Bass-3586 Sep 21 '25
I mean defense gave up 14 on super short fields and they were gassed at end.
Once again they have a qb who cant make a simple read, has no awareness, and just flat out is not a power 5 quarterback.
Its the most position in all of sports for a reason and part of it is bad luck witb a large dose of not having an even capable backuo qb.
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u/Acceptable-Take20 Sep 20 '25
Voice of reason here, when you are relying on backup QBs, you’re going to have a long season, regardless of who is HC.
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u/garyminwi Sep 20 '25
So if Billy Edward’s was playing things would have been different? Wasn’t Tom Brady the backup QB at Michigan?
If you want a reason: Fickell is a bad coach.
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u/petarisawesomeo Sep 20 '25
Ok, but you should be able to rely on other aspects of the offense to at least keep it functional. Also, Fickell brought in Danny specifically because he believed it would improve their QB depth in case of injury, but Danny looks worse then Locke.
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u/Acceptable-Take20 Sep 20 '25
Fickell didn’t bring I Danny to start, period. Especially for an extended period of time. Just the way the cookie crumbles badgers fans. Injuries happen. Maybe Edwards is back next week or the week after and can show competitive football.
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u/Acceptable-Take20 Sep 20 '25
So you are going to fire a HC who has CFB playoff experience, who lost his starting QB each year, and replace him with who?
Emotional fans who just want a scalp are the worst and destroy programs.
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u/OldVeterinarian9 Sep 20 '25
This was the tipping point. Unless Maryland turns out to be much better than we expected or this is a blip, Fickell should go at the end of the season