Why it’s hard to have 'blind faith' in Wisconsin football under Luke Fickell
After four straight losses, Wisconsin Badgers head football coach Luke Fickell is committed to the process and said he has no problem having "blind faith."
Following Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers football team (5-6, 3-5 Big Ten), this season feels a bit like singing Jesus Take the Wheel on repeat—blind faith is all you’ve got, and even that’s starting to wear thin.
After another disheartening performance, Wisconsin’s decade-long dominance over Nebraska came to a humbling end in a 44-25 road loss that saw the Cornhuskers faithful storm the field to celebrate bowl eligibility for the first time since 2016. The Freedom Trophy? Gone. A 12-year winning streak over Nebraska? Snapped.
Fickell, now 12-12 overall, 8-9 in Big Ten play since arriving in Madison, had no answers after the game, only the same tired refrain.
“This is getting obviously old," Fickell admitted. "I don't have any excuses. We didn't play well. We didn't play well in the complimentary football that we have to on the road in particular, and it snowballed.
"We have to challenge ourselves. We're going to have to look real deep here and find out who's with us and who's willing to put it all, lay it all out on the line for these seniors coming up next week."
The on-field product has been a glaring issue. While offensive coordinator Phil Longo was rightfully shown the door, the real problems against the Cornhuskers were on the defensive side, where Mike Tressel's unit unraveled. And let’s be honest—this wasn’t just a one-off week.
The Badgers have allowed 40 or more points in three games this season, which hasn’t happened since 2001—the last time Wisconsin missed a bowl game. This type of regression in Fickell's second season is concerning for a coach brought in to elevate the football program.
Where’s the progress, Luke?
It’s not about wins and losses anymore—it’s about progress. Fans understood that hiring Fickell and moving on from Jim Leonhard guaranteed a transitional period. While some, myself included, thought it would lead to more immediate results, others knew the program might have to take a step back before moving forward. But this isn’t about patience running thin; it’s about the absence of tangible improvement.
In either case, I’m tired of the constant finger-pointing at Paul Chryst regarding the shortcomings of coach Fickell’s Wisconsin football team. Sure, you can argue some of this traces back to Chryst’s tenure, but this is Fickell’s program—these are his guys—and it’s on him to fix it.
The problem is simple: the Badgers haven’t improved in two seasons under Fickell. Could they? Sure. It's fair to ask for patience. But right now, there’s no clear plan or identity on the field. Wisconsin isn’t competing with the Big Ten teams it used to dominate, and losses to Indiana — pre-Curt Cignetti — and Northwestern last season, followed by USC, Iowa, and Nebraska in 2024, only underscore the glaring lack of consistency.
The truth is that there have been far more embarrassing losses for the Badgers under Fickell than quality wins. Thus far, Fickell is 0-6 against ranked teams. Even Fickell himself doesn’t seem to have any answers.
"We can play really, really well, and then get into a situation where things don't go well, and we can't find a way to re-group," Fickell said when asked about the team’s inconsistency. "To be honest, that is what I've been searching for for quite a while.
“I don't have an answer, I can't put a finger on it, other than get back to work, see who is truly with you, and willing to do the same things that you are and be addicted to this fight."
A culture shift without results
There’s no doubt that Fickell can recruit. His staff, led by Director of Recruiting Pat Lambert and General Managers Max Stienecker, have brought in some highly rated classes in back-to-back seasons, and the talent floor for Wisconsin football is undoubtedly rising on paper.
But that hasn’t translated into meaningful results on the field yet.
While those younger recruits need time to develop into impact players, expecting better football—even in transition is not unreasonable. Both can be true.
The lack of complementary football has been glaring. Wisconsin’s offense has flashes of promise, but the defense collapses. The defense shows up, and the offense completely disappears. As Drew Hamm put it, “Legally speaking, Wisconsin’s offense and defense can’t play well at the same time. The Badgers are just following law enforcement instructions.”
Honestly, I’m starting to think Drew might be onto something—brushing up on state statutes doesn’t seem like the worst idea right now because there is a non-zero chance it could explain away a lot of our problems.
Fickell keeps preaching faith in the process, but how much longer can fans buy in when the process doesn’t seem to have a clear direction? At least when the 76ers front office sold that slogan, they acknowledged there would be some tough times before promising brighter days ahead. When will we see a sign that things are about to turn around?
"I do believe where it's not always seen or always felt, there's something that's building," said Fickell. "There's something that's coming. Unfortunately, it hasn't been able to rear its head.
“I put that on me."
“Blind faith” isn’t enough
When the Badgers head coach was asked after the Nebraska loss if he still believed in his process, Fickell didn’t waver.
“I don’t have a problem having blind faith,” Fickell told reporters. “When you struggle like that, I’m sure there are guys that have some doubts in their minds. … Not being able to perform and do things the way we need to be able to do them to give them the results they want, it's tough.
"But you’re going to have to find ways to pick yourself back up and have some faith in the process.”
The issue isn’t blind faith; it’s that faith requires something to believe in. Right now, the Badgers fanbase is left questioning what, if anything, they’ve seen that inspires confidence in future results. This team isn’t losing games because of its tough schedule or bad luck.
Wisconsin is losing because it’s playing sloppy, undisciplined football.
And when you dive into the advanced metrics, it’s painfully obvious that both the offense and defense have regressed under Fickell’s regime. His two most critical coordinator hires have proven to be the wrong choices.
That said, Fickell will soon have an opportunity to right the ship on offense with his next hire, and he’ll need to hit this one out of the park—or he won't be around to hire a third candidate. On the defensive side, a source mentioned that Tressel could be demoted to linebackers coach while retaining a co-defensive coordinator title, potentially paving the way for a new play-caller to step in. I think there's real smoke here.
The road back to Big Ten relevance won’t be an easy one. In fact, it'll be like climbing that damn mountain coach Fickell is always talking about. This offseason will be make or break for Fickell as a CEO to reevaluate and rebuild a foundation for a T.E.A.M that’s currently riddled with cracks. If meaningful progress doesn’t materialize soon, the blind faith fans have placed in Wisconsin football under coach Fickell could evaporate entirely.
Until then, Jesus take the wheel.
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