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The Wisconsin football program's 22-year bowl streak, the third-longest active streak in FBS behind Georgia (27) and Oklahoma (25), is hanging on by a thread. To extend it, Luke Fickell and the Badgers (5-6, 3-5 Big Ten) must now beat rival Minnesota on Friday at Camp Randall Stadium, a daunting task given their struggles during this four-game losing streak. Badgers fans and former players have long taken pride in this streak because it's a testament to the program’s sustained success.
But after falling to Nebraska in a humbling 44-25 defeat, Wisconsin now finds itself one loss away from its first losing season since 2001. When asked by reporters about the pressure of keeping the bowl streak alive, coach Fickell, now 13-11 in his tenure at Wisconsin, downplayed it, though the weight of the situation is impossible to ignore. “I don’t know that there’s any more pressure on us than finding a way to get back up and go back at it and play a rivalry game that’s as important as anything that we do all year,” Fickell said .
“And are there other things that lay in the balance of it? Yeah, there are. "I don’t think those things are going to be in the forefront of what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to make sure we pick ourselves back up, we’ve got to make sure we figure out where we went wrong in the preparations of the things that we did, and make sure that we’re ready to go next Friday.
” © Dylan Widger-Imagn Images Friday’s game against P.J. Fleck and the Gophers isn’t just about pride at this point; it’s about salvaging an already disappointing season.
But even if Wisconsin beats Minnesota and qualifies for a lower-tier bowl game, there's no denying that there are serious cracks in the foundation of the program. The Badgers had an opportunity to rebound after their narrow 16-13 loss to No. 1 Oregon .
Instead, Fickell made several head-scratching coaching decisions, and Wisconsin consistently beat themselves against Nebraska, unable to match the energy and execution required to win a trophy game. Mike Tressel's defense, which showed moments of real promise against Oregon, mirrored its collapse from the 42-10 Iowa debacle, allowing 473 yards and giving up six straight scoring possessions at one point. The Badgers have allowed 40 or more points in three games this season, the most since 2001—the same year Wisconsin last missed a bowl game.
Fickell is heading into a make-or-break offseason that could define his tenure, with significant changes needed on both sides of the ball. The Badgers offense requires a complete overhaul under a new coordinator , and the defense must find some semblance of consistency. Right now, neither is where it needs to be to compete in the Big Ten.
"We've got to challenge each other. We've got to make sure that we understand that we still care about each other, understand that we're all dedicated to each other and that there are some things to be grateful for," said Fickell. "It's just hard to see right now.
" The Badgers return to Camp Randall with one final opportunity to secure bowl eligibility and keep the program's bowl streak alive against the Gophers. If Fickell closes out the 2024 season at 5-7 with a 0-3 record in rivalry games, that comfy seat of his is going to start getting warm. For more Wisconsin Badgers football and basketball content, subscribe to the Talkin' Badgers podcast.
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