Can Luke Fickell survive next season?
The start of the off season has been in shambles for the Badgers football team. Everyone is getting furious with the lack of awareness from Luke Fickell. With the loss of 3 star quarterback Mabrey Mettauer and running back Tawee Walker. Many fans don't see how bad this is but in reality Mabrey and Tawee were the future of Wisconsin football. But with these two transferring follows 21 other players who have also transferred leaving a wide margin of empty spots on the roster. Walker was one the brightest spots with the loss of Chez Mellusi, Tawee Walker picked up the workload ending the season with 10 rushing TDs and 864 yards. Luke Fickell needs to wake up because sooner or later he will be getting fired because the seat is getting hot and now with the loss of 23 players that isn't making it a good case on if he is a good coach. He better have some tricks under his sleeve or even a plan because his record and decisions don't back it up.
What should we be expecting in 2025?
The expectations are low, the fans are getting tired of having losing season after losing season. The Badgers just snapped their 22 year bowl streak. With the end of the season recruiting has been a whirlwind. We picked up a handful of 4 star recruits, notable names are tight end Tanner Koziol, wide receiver Mark Hamper and edge Tyreese Fearby. We also received quarterback Billy Edwards Jr in the portal as well, Billy threw for 2,881 and 15 touchdowns. This is a step into the right direction. This team will carry a lot of baggage from firing OC(Offensive Coordinator) Phil Longo, having two great players leave due to the lack of leadership and on top of that snapping a 22 year bowl streak. Many seats in this organization will be hot moving forward. The fans, the city and the people who support and love the Badgers will need to accept the fact that we need to make some major changes on the staff and the roster. The 2025 schedule for the Badgers will test them and have them fight in the BIG10. They have one big game at the start of the season against power 5 Alabama. The team travels to Maryland but has a 4 game streak against 4 big schools who have a history of winning. The Badgers hit the road to travel to Ann Arbor to face the Michigan Wolverines and have 2 home games against the Iowa hawkeyes and the Ohio state buckeyes. Following that week the team faces Oregon in Eugene. These games will be a test for the team.
Whether the season turns out to be in our favor or not we have that rich history. With the winter transfer portal ending on December 28th and having it open back up in the spring we will have to see if we get anymore recruits to fill in the spots we lost or if we don't pick up any. Ultimately Luke Fickell needs to change everything and start recruiting incoming seniors and transfers. If he cannot manage to secure any more players his seat will be hot even before the season starts. We will have to see what the future holds for the Badgers.
Eli Grimslid
DiSportsPhotoAgency
Writer
