Wisconsin's lack of discipline vs. Iowa should be final nail in Luke Fickell's coffin
Wisconsin's complete and utter lack of discipline was the most damning part of its humiliating 37-0 homecoming loss to Iowa.
The last time I laid my eyes on a Wisconsin football team this atrociously undisciplined? Head coach Paul Chryst was fired the next day after a 34-10 loss to Illinois in 2022. That was considered shocking at the time.
Yet after an incomprehensible 37-0 loss to Iowa, the Badgers’ fourth straight defeat and yet another “rock bottom” moment for the program, firing Luke Fickell — something I encouraged weeks ago — appears to be the only course of action moving forward.
It was no secret how crucial this game was in the week leading up to what unfolded as a homecoming massacre. Iowa supposedly represented one of the more winnable games remaining on the schedule. Wisconsin knew it needed the Heartland Trophy back, having lost to the Hawkeyes three straight times.
“Coming off two losses, to go into a rivalry game and have a chance to put those things behind you and understand this is something you’ve been talking about since January,” Fickell said before the game.
“I think everybody understands what is at stake for us and what this game means.”
Now, I could take this opportunity to crack wise about how they certainly didn’t play like it, etc., etc.
But I remain genuinely at a loss for words. With the magnitude of this game — and specifically, with how Fickell went out of his way to acknowledge the magnitude of this game — this kind of showing is absolutely inconceivable.
Even Fickell himself seemed shell-shocked afterward, offering an apology that showed just how far this team has fallen.
“That’s as low as it can be,” Fickell said postgame. “I apologize. I apologize to our guys, to not have them ready. I’m dumbfounded in a lot of ways, but that’s my job. This is a game we have been talking about since January, and we have been doing a lot of things to make sure we were ready and prepared. And, obviously, we were not.”
The Badgers totaled just 209 yards, while allowing Iowa to gash its alleged elite run defense for 210 rushing yards alone. They turned the ball over three times and never took a trip to the red zone. They were shut out at home for the first time since 1980. This is their 9th straight loss to Power Four competition.