What Luke Fickell said about facing No. 1 Ohio State

COLUMBUS — Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell met with the media Monday to preview his team’s game against No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday.

The Badgers are fresh off a bad 37-0 home loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes to fall to 2-4 on the season and winless against Power Four competition. Ohio State, meanwhile, is 6-0 with its most recent win coming on the road at Illinois.

Lettermen Row has the full breakdown of what Luke Fickell said in his press conference to preview the matchup.

Luke Fickell on the Ohio State defensive system…

“They’ve got really good football players, and I think that in particular, you know, in the back end of things where a lot of the disguise comes from, they can do a lot of different things with Caleb Downs. And he gives you an opportunity to line him up anywhere and know he’s going to be a good player. He’s going to put himself into a position that makes it harder for you to read and recognize those things. The disguise is something that’s really good, but I don’t think that overshadows the ability of the guys that line up up front and really across the board.”

On his job security after a 2-4 start…

“I don’t know that that’s my position, right? I mean, first and foremost, I got to make sure that the locker room is the most important thing, right? I’m not going to change people’s minds outside of the results, obviously change people’s minds. So to go out there and start some campaign of some sorts, like the truth of the matter is we have to go game by game. We have to get the guys inside this locker room. That’s what I asked about, right? I mean, they can be mad at me. They can be down on me. That’s perfectly fine. But don’t be down on those guys in that locker room. Those guys that wear the W, the guys that go out there, you know, they can scream and holler if they don’t make a play that they want them to make, but they got to be able to support them. I think that’s the most important thing is recognizing what are you really supporting and what do you really love? And, you know, for me to sit here and worry about all those other things, there’s not enough time in the day. There’s not enough energy in the day. So the focus for me and for our staff is on the guys inside that locker room and doing everything we can to make sure that we keep that thing rolling. They’ve got the right mindset. They understand what we have to do, we have to do together and we have to put our best product out there on Saturday.”

On what he has seen from the Buckeyes this year…

“You see a confidence building, not that people would say “they were not returning national champs, how they don’t have confidence.” But I think when you have a new quarterback, when you have some new pieces, you can see a growth. And I think what you do see is even growth from game one to where they are now. And so it’s hard to get past some of the, just the talent level that they have and the ability to make plays, both offensively and defensively. But I do think you see a uniqueness of complimentary football, that maybe at the start of the season, I’m not sure that maybe they thought they would have or did have. I mean, obviously, we all want it. But you really see it, that kind of growth, as you watch them, you evaluate them through the season.”

Luke Fickell on if it’s special to face his alma mater again…

“I’d say maybe in the development, just as being a player and things like that, spend a lot of time there. No, it’s like anything, right? I mean, it’s like playing your big brother in some ways. And so yeah, deep down inside, that’s something burning. It can be a little bit different. But to be honest with you, in where we are and what we’re doing, it’s hard to overshadow every single day of us finding ways to get better. We know the task that’s gonna be in front of us on Saturday. We have to be prepared for that. I have to be prepared for that. But I think in the midst of where we are, it allows me not to focus on some of those things that, whether you’ve had history there, how long you spent there, or maybe even some of the relationships you have there. It’s pretty easy to just kind of stay focused on the day-to-day things right now and making sure we’re pushing forward and worrying about these hundred or so guys that we’ve got inside this locker room.”