FLOOD: Luke Fickell Wants to Keep Spirits High, but That's Getting Harder to Do

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Once again, adversity has hit the Wisconsin football program early. In all three years of his tenure, Luke Fickell has suffered a non-conference loss. All is fine and dandy when the record is unblemished, even if the Badgers are skating by non-power-four foes, but when that first loss inevitably comes in September, UW has found itself right back to square one — at the crossroads wondering, ‘Where do we go from here?’

Following Saturday’s 38-14 defeat at the hands of No. 19 Alabama (2-1), Fickell took an oath to remain positive. How long will it last? That may depend on what lies ahead for Wisconsin against a daunting 2025 schedule. Overseeing a program that fell apart following a demoralizing Braedyn Locke interception against Penn State last season, it’s all Fickell can do in order to not let history repeat itself.

“It’s tough to swallow, but I promised these guys from the get-go, when we started this thing, there’s one thing I’m going to be committed to, it’s going to be committed to being positive,” Fickell said. “This was a measuring stick. We’re not measuring up to where we want to be, where we expect to be.”

Nobody was surprised by Saturday’s result. Wisconsin went in as nearly three-touchdown underdogs and was facing one of the toughest environments in college football while being led by a backup quarterback. The Badgers looked subpar in their first two games of the season, outside of a 1.5 quarter spurt in week two against Middle Tennessee. On top of that, Alabama had already suffered the sting of defeat, a somewhat embarrassing week one loss to Florida State, and was forced to look inward.

But to come into the first true road game in SEC country for the program since 1972 and throw it away out of the gate while getting handled the rest of the way has to be disheartening. It certainly is for a fan base that seems to grow more cynical by the minute.

The Badgers had their chance to throw the first punch. After a fourth-down stop, Wisconsin took over in Alabama territory only to have sophomore quarterback Danny O’Neil give the ball right back via an interception. In the second quarter, UW extended a drive with a roughing the passer penalty on Mason Reiger — although that felt like home cooking. In their last real drive of the first half, junior offensive guard Joe Brunner was hit with a crucial hands-to-the-face penalty, once again, in Bama territory — a drive killer. It wasn’t until their final drive of the first half that Alabama really had to work for anything, going 98 yards in a shade under five minutes to grab a 21-0 halftime lead.

And once Alabama got the momentum, they virtually never gave it back. The Tide out-gained Wisconsin 484-209. Bama also had 4.0 sacks, only faced seven third downs, scored 28 unanswered points, and made things look way too easy in the passing game en route to a 24-of-29, 382-yard, and four-touchdown effort from quarterback Ty Simpson, who should have been 27-of-29 if you include three drops.

In the off-season, Wisconsin senior linebacker Darryl Peterson admitted the team quit on each other late in the 2024 campaign. After Saturday’s loss, the Badgers were seen gathering in numerous huddles outside their locker room, urging each other not to let Saturday’s defeat break them.

“I feel like we fell down a little bit, but we don’t fall all the way to the bottom,” said senior safety Austin Brown, who posted a team-high 11.0 tackles. “The top of the mountain is still in our sights. I think we can definitely get there.”

Admittedly, Wisconsin says it’s getting harder to remain positive. The Badgers are now 0-7 under Fickell against ranked opponents. The Badgers haven’t defeated an Associated Press Top 25 team since 2021. Not a single player on the roster saw action in those games or knows what it feels like to win a game of that magnitude, at least while with UW.

“Everybody’s sick,” said Fickell. “No one likes to lose and lose the way we did and not perform in any way, shape, or form in the way we prepared to perform.”

Again, it’s not that Wisconsin lost, but how they lost. Alabama scored on five consecutive touchdown drives. The Badgers didn’t hit back until a 95-yard kickoff return from Vinny Anthony in the third quarter. By then, it was too late.

“The truth the matter is, even that right there gets overshadowed by just the way that we executed,” said Fickell.

The transfer portal has changed some things, but it’s generally year three where a rebuild starts to at least take shape. Either that, or it’s onto the next head coach. 18 more transfers brought into the program, a new offensive and defensive scheme, an entire roster of players who are now fully bought into the new regime, and the Badgers still look like…well, the Badgers.

“It’s tough to be positive in some of those things, but where else do we go?,” said Fickell.