Fresh off a 24-21 loss at Maryland, Luke Fickell didn’t try to dress it up.
“Well we didn’t do anything well enough today to win,” he said in his opening statement. “That’s the hard part.”
That was the tone from the Wisconsin head coach after a fourth-quarter collapse that left the Badgers with more questions than answers. Fickell made it clear the road loss came down to a full-body breakdown.
“You can’t go on the road in this league and think that you’re going to be able to play that way and win a football game.”
He pointed to the issues that buried Wisconsin in the end.
“Turn the ball over, not be able to rush the football, and give up some big plays, it’s impossible.”
Fickell also acknowledged the injuries that hit Wisconsin during the game, but he wasn’t interested in using them as cover.
“There’s some things that really, really hurt on this one. We took some serious injuries. Guys went down, made it more difficult on us, but that’s no excuse.”
By the end, his message was blunt.
“All-in-all, we didn’t get it done,” he added. “It’s hard to sit here and make any excuse of any sorts. We’re a better football team than that but we didn’t show it today.”
The numbers backed up the frustration. Wisconsin went just 2-for-12 on third down and finished with 201 total yards of offense. The Badgers also lost three fumbles, a far bigger issue than the injuries that cropped up along the way.
Jeff Grimes’ offense had its worst outing of the season, even with the reminder that this group had already been shut out at Iowa a few weeks ago. Maryland, meanwhile, worked through 111 penalty yards and still found a way to win.
Wisconsin is now 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten, and the Badgers head to Purdue on Saturday, Nov. 21.
In Other News...
Wisconsin Commit Kingston Allen Just Showed Why Everyone Wants Him
Kingston Allen keeps making the kind of statement that turns a recruiting commitment into a full-blown national storyline. The Notre Dame Academy running back broke multiple Wisconsin high school rushing records against Union Grove High School, including the career rushing yards mark, while scoring three touchdowns in a 21-17 win that sent his team into the championship game.
For Wisconsin, the appeal is obvious and only getting stronger. Allen has stayed committed to the Badgers even as Ohio State and Alabama have come calling, and performances like this are exactly why the pressure around his recruitment is unlikely to fade anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin May Have Lost A Key Defender For Much Longer Than Saturday
The Badgers may be bracing for more than just a short-term absence after senior safety Matt Jung went down with a serious right leg injury in Saturdays game. Jung made a huge play by dislodging the ball at the goal line, but the moment quickly turned grim as he was visibly in pain, needed a cart and a leg brace to leave the field, and left Wisconsins defense with a major concern.
Jung is expected to miss the remainder of the season, a tough blow for a veteran presence in the secondary and for a defense that also saw Mason Posa and Javan Robinson leave with injuries. For Wisconsin, the immediate challenge is not just replacing production, but trying to steady a unit that suddenly looks a lot thinner after one of its most physical games of the year. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsins Offense Just Put Jeff Grimes Back Under The Spotlight
Wisconsins 24-21 loss to Maryland put the focus right back on Jeff Grimes and the direction of the offense. After a stretch in which freshman quarterback Ryan Hopkins had been given a little more freedom, the Badgers leaned back into a conservative approach that left the unit looking stuck and predictable, even as some of the backs showed they could have been part of a more balanced plan.
Hopkins never found much room to breathe, finishing with 72 passing yards and three fumbles while operating under steady pressure. The bigger issue for Wisconsin is that the game plan seemed to limit the quarterback rather than help him, and with the offense again underperforming, the questions around Grimes have only grown louder, with Luke Fickells broader offensive direction now part of the conversation too. [Read more 🡒]