Chris McIntosh: Not worried about fielding a team for the bowl game

Wisconsin finally found a new coach after firing former head of the program Paul Chryst during the season. Many fans wanted to keep interim Jim Leonhard as the new head coach, but ultimately, the Badgers nabbed Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell, who led the Bearcats to the College Football Playoff in 2021 as the first non-power conference team to make the field.

However, before Fickell takes over, Wisconsin will have a bowl game to participate in. The question now is whether the Badgers can actually field a team to play in the bowl, assuming that various players throughout the roster opt not to participate. Some may be ready to prepare for pro careers while another bunch will leave the program through the transfer portal. Could be slim pickings for the football team in their final game. But that’s not what AD Chris McIntosh expects.

“No. I mean, we’re excited about the bowl game and there’s a rich tradition of bowl games here,” the Wisconsin athletic director stated when asked if he was concerned over a flurry of players missing the bowl game.

“And we’ve got a 21-year streak playing in bowl games here, and, you know, there’s a process that our players will go through to become more comfortable with the direction that Coach Fickell will take this program. That began last night when we addressed them. And then when Coach Fickell was left with the players to talk to them and I’m confident that we’ll have a team who’s fired up about the direction of our program.

So Chris McIntosh thinks the program has some real energy behind it with hiring Fickell. He expects a fired-up group of guys taking the field at whichever bowl destination the Badgers wind up in.

“I don’t have those kind of concerns and this will be a valuable experience for all involved. For our players, for our coaches. You know, for a long time we viewed playing in bowl games as a competitive advantage, as an opportunity to further develop our roster and the younger players. And that’s how it’ll be viewed this year — as an incredible opportunity. And I think we’ll have plenty of people to take advantage of it.”

Wisconsin definitely won’t be at 100% for the bowl game — few teams ever are. However, they should have most of their playmakers in uniform and participating in the season finale.