Nov 25, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Wisconsin quarterback Tanner Mordecai (8) and teammates celebrate with the Paul Bunyan Football Trophy ceremonial axe to act out cutting down the goalposts after defeating the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Wisconsin won 28-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK
The public sentiment may be slow to pick up that the Wisconsin program has slipped from the steady place it held from the late 1990s to 2019. The Badgers went 4-3 in 2020, 9-4 (after starting 1-3) in 2021, 7-6 in 2022 (Paul Chryst fired midseason) and 7-6 in 2023.
2023’s result was by far the most concerning. Luke Fickell entered his first year as Badgers head coach with sky-high expectations and excitement at an all-time high. His team went on to finish 7-6 against one of the lighter schedules in the country, held down by losses to struggling programs including Northwestern and Indiana.
It was a startling result in the final year of the favorable Big Ten West structure. More than anything, it showed that more than an instant turnaround was necessary.
Fickell now enters 2024 looking to lead a program resurgence, in order words a return to its 2016-2019 form. In 2021 and 2022, that success was only a year or two in the past. Now, the Jonathan Taylor era in Madison, Wisconsin occurred a half-decade ago.
So Wisconsin’s recent history helps inform the program’s expectations in the new era of the Big Ten. It also helps to see how far the program has fallen and the work required by Fickell and his coaching staff. That all said, the program deserves credit for maintaining bowl eligibility despite two consecutive bad seasons — that fact speaks to its steadiness and culture of consistent winning.
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Publish date : 2024-07-24 09:00:00
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