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Christian Alliegro injury update: Luke Fickell offers diagnosis of Wisconsin LB

Stephen Samraby: Steve Samra12 hours agoSamraSource
Christian Alliegro
(Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images)

Wisconsin’s struggles continued on Saturday, as Luke Fickell’s Badgers fell to Ohio State in another lopsided contest. The loss marked Wisconsin’s fifth straight defeat, and the team has now been outscored 71-0 over the last two games.

Still, one bright spot emerged for Fickell amid the disappointment — the toughness and leadership of linebacker Christian Alliegro. Despite suffering a broken arm early in the game, Alliegro stayed on the field, playing 62 snaps and recording six tackles with a game-high two tackles for loss.

Fickell praised his linebacker’s grit and commitment after the game, offering insight into just how much Alliegro endured to keep playing: “I’m not going to sit here and sugarcoat things, but I wanted to mention a few things. We got it handed to us today in all areas, to be honest with you,” Fickell stated. “But, there’s some notable guys that we need to continue to build around.

“A guy like Christian Alliegro, in case you’re wondering, broke his arm in the first quarter. They took him in, x-rayed it. They casted it up and said, ‘He can try and play if he wants.’ I think he played every snap from there on out. Came back in at halftime, casted it up even bigger, went back out and played the entire second half, because he cares. Because he’s not going to let his brothers down.”

That’s the attitude Fickell wants to see from his team as the Badgers fight through a difficult season. Unfortunately, Alliegro wasn’t the only injury concern to come out of the game. Running back Dilin Jones, offensive lineman Kerry Kodanko, and cornerback Ricardo Hallman all went down during the loss, adding to Wisconsin’s growing list of hurt players.

Quarterback Billy Edwards remains among those battling through injuries. He hasn’t played since the Big Ten opener against Maryland and didn’t go through his normal warmup routine before facing Ohio State.

“I think we’re trying to figure out — maybe we’re doing too much before,” Fickell explained. “He goes out there and does as much as he can Saturdays and then on Sundays he’s a little bit sore. It’s like, is this kind of an insanity thing, doing the same thing over and over again expecting to get different results? We kind of backed him off this week and hope he feels a hell of a lot better Sunday, Monday, and then see where we are.”

The road doesn’t get any easier for Wisconsin. Next up is a trip to No. 8 Oregon, where the Ducks remain firmly in the College Football Playoff hunt. It will be a daunting challenge in a tough environment at Autzen Stadium, but Fickell is hoping his team shows some resilience.