MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin would love to see Luke Fickell make the same type of leap he produced his second year at his previous stop. Fickell’s experience makes the Badgers confident they can improve upon their 7-6 performance from his debut season in Madison, even as they navigate a tougher schedule in the expanded Big Ten Conference.
“The first year with a new coaching staff is hard, to get everybody acclimated and for everybody to adopt,” cornerback Ricardo Hallman said. “You have some guys who aren’t all the way in or all the way invested. I think now with the team, we all have that same goal.
I just think it’s going to be a lot better.” Fickell arrived at Wisconsin amid plenty of fanfare after winning big at Cincinnati, so his results last year were a bit of a letdown. Then again, Fickell’s history suggests the Badgers are on the verge of a breakthrough.
Cincinnati went 4-8 in Fickell’s debut season of 2017 but surged to 11-2 the following year. Fickell led Cincinnati to a 53-10 record from 2018-21, including a College Football Playoff berth in 2020. Wisconsin seeks to make a similar rebound.
“More than anything, we’re just trying to really establish what those standards look like and how we’re going to do things,” Fickell said as Wisconsin opened training camp. “Not that you didn’t say that you were going to do that last year, but I think it’s just a little bit more of an emphasis and a focus on what all those standards look like.�.