The Wisconsin Badgers closed Luke Fickell’s first season as head coach with a 7-6 record, no Big Ten West title and some big questions entering year two.
College coaches, generally, deserve some leeway with a new program before being abruptly questioned or criticized, though not all get that. In a normal world, Fickell would be given a few years to build ‘his’ program before the critics truly start barking.
But then losses to Washington State, Iowa, Ohio State, Indiana and Northwestern happened. And suddenly 2024 carries much more weight in the eyes of the public.
Maybe a 9-4 or 8-5 season would have carried a different tone into the offseason. But for all of the hype and excitement surrounding Fickell and the new-look program last year at this time, some questions are circling as people look ahead at the gauntlet schedules that await.
Speaking of questions, On3’s Jesse Simonton recently graded the first year of every new head coach last season. Thanks to the combination of expectations, the schedule and the on-field performance, he gave Luke Fickell a C+.
Year 1 College Football Head Coach Report Cards via @JesseReSimontonđź‘€
Read: https://t.co/CmasYZuCy9 pic.twitter.com/WT2wBHKwEX
— On3 (@On3sports) January 3, 2024
His thought closes with this anecdote, which I think encaptures the thoughts of many Badgers fans:
“Fickell is too good of a coach to be overly concerned about the direction of the program. He’s won too many games elsewhere and he just inked a Top 25 recruiting class. But it’s clear Wisconsin faces a much steeper challenge to truly start competing for championships like the administration hoped.”