The Wisconsin Badgers will try to pull off the upset this weekend against Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Day spoke with reporters on Tuesday about the job Fickell has done with the Wisconsin football program up to this point. He said:
“Certainly, he left a lot behind here as a player and a coach, very well respected by so many. Nothing but respect for Luke, his staff, the team, the program. Wisconsin’s always an excellent program, and Luke’s done a great job.”
Luke Fickell has a history with the Ohio State Buckeyes program. He was a player with the program and played in 50 consecutive games for them from 1993 to 1996, which was a record at the time. Fickell played nose guard for them.
He also played in the 1996 Rose Bowl, was the 2010 Assistant Head Coach of the Year Award, and won a National Championship with the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2014 against the Oregon Ducks when Urban Meyer was the head coach at the time.
There has been mutual respect all week long between Ryan Day and Luke Fickell. It is all about respecting your opponents.
Ohio State Buckeyes Head Coach Ryan Day Acknowledges the kind of football programs Luke Fickell, the Wisconson Badgers head coach, has built in the past
Before Fickell got to Wisconsin, he coached the Cincinnati Bearcats for a few seasons. Ryan Day also said in his presser about the Badgers football program and Luke Fickell:
“I think it just started when he was at Cincinnati and what he did there, and what he built. His teams are always well-coached. So, we know going in (Wisconsin is) going to be well-coached (and) play hard.”
Respecting opponents goes a long way in getting players ready for games. The third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes are treating this game against the unranked Wisconsin Badgers seriously, and they feel upset-minded. Ohio State has a 7-0 record on the year, and Wisconsin has a 5-2 record on the year.
The Buckeyes, led by Ryan Day, have way more talent than the Badgers, led by Luke Fickell. If the game is close, it could come down to who makes the better coaching moves here.
