Luke Fickell admits Wisconsin players have Alabama game circled

The first two seasons of the Luke Fickell era at Wisconsin haven’t quite been up to the standard that the program has established for itself, as the Badgers missed a bowl game last season for the first time since 2001. Through two full seasons and two games this season, Fickell has led Wisconsin to a 14-13 record (0-6 against ranked teams).

That stigma can be completely wiped away this weekend when the Badgers hit the road for a marquee road matchup in Tuscaloosa against No. 19 Alabama. This is the second year of the home-and-home series between the two historic programs, as the Tide rolled Wisconsin 42-10 in Camp Randall last season.

Fickell revealed on Monday that he and his players most certainly have the Alabama game circled due to the ramifications a win could have, but also due to how last year’s game played out.

“Well this is one of those (games) that I know guys have circled,” Fickell said. “For many reasons. We know how that game went last year but also for the idea of like ‘look, there’s nothing more you want to do as a competitor than be in the biggest games and biggest competition out there’. To go and Alabama and play in front of that crowd and play in front of SEC country; there’s not a guy within our program that doesn’t say that’s one of the reasons why they’re here.”

Fickell says his team understands the urgency of the Alabama game

“It’s only Monday and we haven’t seen what that actually looks like as you go out to practice, but last week there were coaches prodding guys and making sure they understood the urgency that we had to be able to do every single day in practice. That won’t be the case this week. That’s the thing about coaching… you kind of recognize when you really gotta get the prod and out and step back and let these guys be the leaders they are, have the emotions they have and have the week that they will.”

It will certainly be a tough task to knock the Tide off in Tuscaloosa, as they are 8-0 at Bryant-Denny Stadium under second year head coach Kalen DeBoer. His team however showed a boatload of weaknesses in their opening week 31-17 loss to Florida State, giving Wisconsin some hope for a potential upset.

The Badgers opened the season with quality showings against Miami (OH) (17-0) and Middle Tennessee (42-10) and will look to carry that momentum over to this weekend.