Wisconsin Badgers had a forgettable 2024 season and much of the criticisms are on their lack of identity. That’s what head coach Luke Fickell and his crew tried to fix this offseason.
The team failed to make a Bowl game for the first time since 2001 in Fickell’s second season. They finished with a 12-13 overall record last year. They recorded five straight losses to end the season.
They had players who jumped ship right away, contributing to notions that they just lacked the passion.
Even their legendary former coach Barry Alvarez slammed the current team, comparing it to the ones the program had back in the day.
“We worked our fannies off to start winning, win championships, and be good. Go to bowl games every year and damn it, we did it better than everyone for 20-some years. After not going for like a million years,” he said back in February when he appeared at the ESPN Madison show.
Barry Alvarez July 27 2022
He added:
“They’ve got a responsibility. I don’t like where we are right now. They need to bounce back and put this program back where it belongs.”
Wisconsin Badgers found their identity, sort of
Fickell is understandably under fire for those failed seasons but he is ready to redeem himself.
They were able to replace players who departed through the transfer portal and even got big men who many critics thought the hole in their roster.
Fickell previewed the new season and revealed that they found the identity they are looking for.
“I feel like it’s the identity that we need, and it’s not completely all the way old-school back, but I think the idea of being more multiple and truly understanding what physicality-first looks like is where we kind of came to,” he said in an interview with ESPN.
It is not just the system that he is talking about. He said that they found the right mix in terms of football skills and personalities.
“Whether it was Coach Grimes’ philosophy or his scheme or really just his personality. I think we’re in a good place,” he explained.
“Obviously, we’ve got a ways to continue to grow, but I really do feel like we’ve got the identity that fits us, that gives us a chance to lean on our guys up front, but still be multiple enough to say, “Hey, we’ve got to be able to create big plays and create space and get down the field just maybe in some different ways.”
Fans will get to have a glimpse of this identity he is talking about on August 13 when the new season opens.
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