In recent memory, has there been a weirder college football situation than what’s happening at Wisconsin?
Not only is the Luke Fickell era not working, it’s not working – at least when it comes to offensive production – at an obscenely incompetent level.
With the team getting worse and worse in each of Fickell’s three seasons, he’s still around, and yet things feel … hopeful?
But why did this go so, so wrong?
Wisconsin’s Big Chance Taken on Luke Fickell
At the time at the end of the 2022 season, Fickell seemed like the right guy at the right time. He was coming off a run of 53 wins with a College Football Playoff appearance – back in the four team days – in five seasons.
He took over a Badger program that needed a boost after the Paul Chryst era had started to go a tad stale. But by stale, that meant a 9-4 2021 season and a 2-3 start in 2022.
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To be fair to Fickell and Wisconsin, it wasn’t a move to taking that one extra step needed.
It has since dipped after all of the losing over the last three seasons, but Wisconsin has been among the winningest programs in the CFP era to not make the playoff.
The ground game wasn’t the same killer of the late 2010s, there had to be more of a passing game, and Fickell changed the style and identity.
A horrible run of quarterback injuries meant the passing game sputtered, there was no longer the dominant ground game to take over, and the entire machine broke down.
But a funny thing happened over the second half of last season – the defense became dominant.
Wisconsin beat Washington and Illinois, hung around with Indiana for a while, and all of a sudden, it was possible to see how this could start to turn back around.
Combine the defense that kicked it all in with a merely competent offense, and …
Instead of being fired, or put on a hot seat going into this year, Fickell was signed through 2031.
Just being competent isn’t good enough at Wisconsin, but for now, that would be a step forward.
– 2026 Wisconsin Schedule Analysis
Wisconsin Quick Hits
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Head Coach: Luke Fickell (4th year, 17-21; 11th year overall, 80-46)
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Best Case / Worst Case: Win more than seven games for the first time since 2021/A third straight losing season
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Biggest Question: Can the Badgers field even an average Big Ten offense?
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Wisconsin Key 2025 Stats
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First Downs: Opponents 204, Wisconsin 169 (fewest in the nation)
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Fumbles: Wisconsin 16 (lost 4), Opponents 6 (lost 1)
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Scoring Offense: Opponents 21.6 per game, Wisconsin 12.8 per game
Offense
Can the offense do anything in the second season under Jeff Grimes?
To be fair, Wisconsin hasn’t had a lick of luck with its quarterback injury situation since Fickell took over, but that doesn’t excuse an attack that needs to thank the heavens for UMass, otherwise, it would’ve been the worst in the nation.
Here comes the help from the transfer portal to get this thing going.
What’s Working
Wisconsin got more receiving help. The Badgers had the worst Power Four passing game by a mile – when Iowa‘s passing attack looks like the Greatest Show on Turf compared to yours, there’s an issue.
It loaded up with five new receivers to go along with three decent-looking holdovers from last year. But they all need someone to get them the ball, so …
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In comes Colton Joseph to save the franchise. The former Old Dominion quarterback is among the most dangerous all-around talents in the nation – more on him in a second – Louisville‘s Deuce Adams was a good option in case things go wrong, and now the O should go.
The Badgers have the running backs. Leading rusher Darrion Dupree is back after leading the team with 363 yards – didn’t Melvin Gordon once get that in a game? – brought in Abu Sama III from Iowa State and Bryan Jackson II from USC.
What Needs Work
The entire offense. There’s no way to do this but to plow right through.
Wisconsin was last among all the Power Four programs, and near the bottom nationally in …
Total offense (253 yards per game), scoring (12.8 points per game), passing yards (253.1 yards per game), yards per play (4.37), first downs (14.1 per game and 169 overall), and big plays, as the only team in America that didn’t have more than 100 plays of more than ten yards.
To get better, it starts with …
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The running game. The 2010 Wisconsin ground attack averaged 320 yards per game. Last year’s Badger rushing game came up with 1,400 yards on the season.
It won’t take much. Wisconsin was 4-0 when it ran for more than 150 yards, and 0-8 when it didn’t.
The offensive line has to finally be okay. It lost Joe Brunner to Indiana, but young redshirt freshmen Colin Cubberly and Emmerson Mandell are now veteran guards.
Tackles PJ Wilkins (Ole Miss) and Lucas Simmons-Johannson (Florida State), center Austin Kawecki (Oklahoma State), and guard Blake Cherry (Arkansas) are in the spotlight.
Player to Watch
Abu Sama III, RB Sr.
He’d be a lock for 1,500 yards in the 2018ish Wisconsin offense, but for now, he’s a good, established Power Four back who averaged 5.6 yards per carry in three years at Iowa State.
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Defense
It got lost in all of the issues with the offense, but the Wisconsin defense came up with a heroic effort in game after game.
It was simple. If it didn’t hold the other side to fewer than 17 points, the team didn’t have a chance.
It’ll get more help this season, but it has a few things of its own that need work.
What’s Working
The pass rush was great, and should be again. The top pass rushers are gone, but the Badgers reloaded.
The pressure comes from the linebackers and edge rushers, and it’s the system that provides the opportunities for the speedy outside defenders to attack.
Jon Jon Kamara (Kansas) and Justus Boone (Arkansas) fit the style to a T, and Tyreese Fearby and Sebastian Cheeks should grow into the bigger roles. But for this to work …
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You need the tackles, and Wisconsin has them. The Badgers went big in the portal with Hammond Russell IV (West Virginia) and Junior Poyser (Buffalo), two 300-pounders who can hold up right away.
Jacob Anderson (Illinois State) and DeNigel Cooper (App State) are good options for the rotation.
The run defense should hold up again with linebackers and top tacklers Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano back.
The Badgers were pounded on by Iowa and Michigan, but that was about it.
The front held up against Indiana, was okay against Oregon, and overall allowed just 3.4 yards per carry on the season.
Oregon, Michigan, and Iowa combined for eight rushing scores. Wisconsin gave up four in the other nine games.
What Needs Work
The midrange pass defense has to be better. Yeah, the Wisconsin defense held up against the Indiana ground attack. Ol’ Fernando Mendoza, though, hit 23-of-25 passes.
Julian Sayin hit 86% of his throws in Ohio State‘s win, and Ty Simpson connected on 80% of his passes in Alabama‘s victory.
Granted, those were three of college football’s best quarterbacks, but overall, the Badgers allowed teams to hit 70% of their throws.
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Takeaways. There weren’t any.
For all of the good things the Badgers did on defense, they couldn’t force enough turnovers to matter. They came up with two in the win over Washington, two in the win over Miami University, and two against the other ten teams combined.
You know how hard it is to recover just one fumble in a season? Wisconsin did just that.
The transfers have to come up huge in the secondary. Safety Matt Jung is back after making 50 tackles, but he’s about it for the returning production.
Wisconsin dominated the portal when it came to getting top defensive backs – Javan Robinson (Arizona State), Bryce West (Ohio State), and Eric Fletcher (Oklahoma State) at corner, Cai Bates (Florida State) and Marvin Burks (Missouri) at safety – but they all need to be amazing.
Player to Watch
Mason Posa, LB Soph.
The linebacking corps needs stars to emerge, and it has two with Cooper Catalono in the middle and Posa on the outside. Posa is a good young hitter with 230-pound size and a year of experience.
He led the team with 61 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles, and three broken up passes – he’ll be a statistical star.
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Keys to the Season
Player Who Needs To Shine
Colton Joseph, QB Jr.
Tyler Van Dyke came in from Miami and got hurt for the year early on.
Maryland‘s Billy Edwards Jr. was supposed to make the O go, got hurt in the second game of the season, and now he’s at North Carolina.
Joseph is the best transfer quarterback in the Fickell era by far.
He needs to be a bit more accurate – completing just under 60% of his passes- but he threw for 4,251 yards and 32 touchdowns in his two years at Old Dominion, and ran for 1,654 yards and 24 scores.
His biggest claim to fame? Ten carries, 179 yards, two touchdowns in the opener against Indiana. No other team ran for more than 117 yards on the Hoosiers last season.
Biggest Concern
Put points on the board
Kent State was dead last in the nation in scoring in both 2023 (14.7 points per game) and 2024 (13.9).
Over the last five years, 2022 Northwestern set the mark with the lowest points per game by any Power Five/Four program with 13.8. UCLA was second-worst in points per game last year among the Power Four with 18.2.
Wisconsin averaged 12.8 points per game, scoring 14 points or fewer in nine games, and ten or fewer in seven of those.
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Biggest Game
Notre Dame (in Green Bay), September 5
Absolutely no one will think the Badgers can win this.
Notre Dame has a top-five team entering the season. Wisconsin has to prove it can score under Fickell, and this screams Good Effort Loss for Bucky.
The entire program can turn around with one gigantic win.
Transfer Portal
The Badgers haven’t been shy about dipping into the portal over the last few years, but the payoff hasn’t come.
The pressure is on this year’s class for both lines and the secondary. There were a few losses, but not enough to be costly if this isn’t Fickell’s breakthrough season.
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Best Signing
Marvin Burks, Jr., S (Missouri)
It’s actually Joseph, but let’s call him the big signing for the offense. Burks is a big deal for the defensive side, coming in after making 131 tackles with two picks in his three years at Missouri. He’ll be an instant playmaker who’ll elevate the Badger secondary.
Biggest Loss
Joe Brunner, OG (Ohio State)
This isn’t a line that can afford to lose good veterans, and Indiana snatching last year’s starting left guard hurts.
The Badgers got their own linemen through the portal and have just enough depth to be okay, but the pressure is on sophomores Collin Cubberly and Emerson Mandell to produce inside.
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Other Names to Know
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Junior Poyser, EDGE (Buffalo)
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Austin Kawecki, C (Oklahoma State)
CFN Season Prediction
The home loss to Maryland wasn’t forgivable, but there was a huge reason Wisconsin went 4-8 .
At Alabama, at Michigan, at Oregon, at Indiana, at Minnesota, Ohio State, Iowa – and that doesn’t include the wins over Illinois and Washington.
Most teams would’ve struggled to get to six wins with the Badger schedule.
That doesn’t forgive how awful the Badgers were on offense, but that’s about to improve with the new parts in the backfield, the defense should be just as good, and …
CFN Prediction: 7-5
There’s no Indiana this year. There’s no Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, Illinois, or Washington, either.
Michigan State, UCLA, Rutgers, Maryland, and Purdue all failed to go bowling last year. Neither did Eastern Michigan or Western Illinois.
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Dealing with Notre Dame in the opener in Green Bay and going to Penn State and Iowa will be tough. USC is a dangerous game at home, and Minnesota will be a tough out in the battle for the Paul Bunyan Axe.
But the schedule won’t be an excuse. There can’t be any excuses overall.
This is the year Wisconsin wakes up and starts to play like Wisconsin again.
Related: Big Ten Football Win Totals 2026: Spring Predictions for All 18 Teams
