The question now isn’t just whether Wisconsin can score, but whether it can still believe.
After a second straight shutout, a 34-0 defeat to top-ranked Ohio State, Luke Fickell’s Badgers find themselves in unfamiliar territory. In the past 30 seasons, Wisconsin has failed to qualify for a bowl game only twice: in 2001 and again last year. A third appears likely.
Fickell, visibly frustrated, didn’t dodge the truth. “If I said it once since the end of the game, I’ve said, ‘Oh, this will be the fifth or sixth time that I’m incredibly disappointed…Obviously, the scoreboard is probably the most notable,’” he said. “To not find a way to put points on the board will never give us a chance. So we know we have to be able to do that, and we got to get a hell of a lot better at it.”
Wisconsin’s offense sputtered from the opening series, managing just 49 passing yards and seven completions. It marked the program’s first stretch of consecutive shutouts in the modern era, a startling stat for a team once defined by consistency.
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“We got it handed to us today in all areas,” Fickell said. “You can ask all the questions you need to ask, but I just want to mention a few things…there’s some notable guys we need to continue to build around.”
One of those was linebacker Christian Alliegro, who broke his arm early in the game but refused to leave the field.
“They casted it up and said he could try to play if he wanted, and I think he played every snap from there on out,” Fickell said. “Because he cares, because he’s not going to let his brothers down.”
That moment, Fickell said, captured the locker room’s mentality, one of pride and persistence, even in defeat. “It’s a hell of a lot harder for you guys to see some hope when you see zero on the scoreboard,” he said. “I think these guys that are in it on an everyday basis see something a hell of a lot different.”
Asked about belief amid mounting losses and speculation about his future, Fickell didn’t hesitate. “There’s no quit in me,” he said. “And the most important thing is there’s no quit in that locker room on each other. So whatever’s going to happen is going to happen, but that doesn’t change what it is that we have to do and they have to do.”
The tone turned reflective as he discussed the human side of a difficult season, young players thrown into the fire, veterans battling injuries, and a fan base losing patience.
“When you have kids that have given it all and are faced with adversity like this…I think it’s a time for our people to come together…We’ve got to find ways to get better and find ways to win football games.”
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