The Wisconsin Badgers football program did not have a wonderful 2024 season. Wisconsin finished with a 5-7 record and they missed a bowl game last season.
Head coach Luke Fickell will be entering his third season and many fans are losing patience with the head coach. There is no question that the Badgers are going to have a winning season in 2025 despite having a tough schedule on their plate. It remains to be seen what the Wisconsin Badgers will do next year.
CBS Sports Writer Brandon Marcello Has Wisconsin Badgers Head Coach Luke Fickell On the Hot Seat Entering the 2025 Season
CBS Sports Writer Brandon Marcello was answering some questions from college football fans about the upcoming 2025 season, even though it feels like it is a million miles away. One fan asked him:
“Who are your top 3 head coaches with the hottest Hot Seats heading into 2025?”
This is a very interesting question about the 2025 season. This is a question that seems to be asked every college football season. Brandon Marcello said:
“The hottest seats, however, are not in Gainesville and Fayetteville. If II had to rank the hottest seats among prominent programs, this is how I’d place it today:
Those three names shouldn’t surprise you, and I’m leaning toward two of those three programs rebounding in 2025 with successful records.”
However, it doesn’t feel like a surprise that Fickell was named on this list. Some Wisconsin fans wanted him fired after this season. Many of the fans question the direction that this football program is heading in. Marcello also added:
“Despite the expected one-year contract extension at Wisconsin, Luke Fickell has a lot to prove this fall. He’s 13-13 overall and the Badgers’ 22-year bowl streak was snapped with a 5-7 record last season. The move from the traditional ground-and-pound offense to the Air Raid under Phil Longo was a disaster, and providing listless performances against rivals Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota has proven too much for fans to handle. Is this a bounceback year? Eh, that schedule is brutal with road trips to Alabama, Michigan and Oregon to go along with home games against Iowa and national champion Ohio State.
Remember, Paul Chryst was fired after winning 16 games combined in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Again, that’s how I rank the hottest seats, but I believe Freeze and Venables are in the best positions to flip the script, just as Napier and Pittman did last fall.”
It remains to be seen how the 2025 season is going to play out for the Wisconsin Badgers. One of the things that has to be better for this program is the offensive side of the football. Wisconsin struggled to score points last season and they also fired the offensive coordinator despite poor quarterback play.
Tough 2025 Schedule
The Wisconsin Badgers will have a very difficult 2025 schedule. Wisconsin will have to go on the road and face the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama will be one of the top teams in the country next season. What also does not help the Wisconsin Badgers and Luke Fickell is that they face six teams in the BIG10, who could have a chance to make the college football playoffs.
The Michigan Wolverines, the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Oregon Ducks, the Indiana Hoosiers, and the Illinois Fighting Illini are all on the schedule next season. They don’t face the Penn State Nittany Lions, but that’s irrelevant for the 2025 college football season.
There is a chance that Wisconsin could lose all of those games next season. Wisconsin may finish 3-9 or 4-8 next season. The Minnesota Golden Gophers game could be the last game that Luke Fickell coaches for this program in 2025 depending on what the record is by then. The schedule could be the downfall of this football team this season also.
For More Great Wisconsin Sports Content
