Just when you think the University of Wisconsin football program might be figuring something out under Luke Fickell, the Badgers find another way to remind you why that optimism is so difficult to sustain.
This time, it came against a Maryland team that entered Saturday at 3-6, had already fired its head coach, and committed 11 penalties for 111 yards.
Wisconsin still found a way to lose.
The Badgers fell 24-21 at SECU Stadium, turning the football over three times, generating just 201 yards of total offense, and allowing Maryland to score 10 points in the final 2:11.
One week after Ryan Hopkins threw three touchdowns in a convincing win over Rutgers, Wisconsin’s passing game produced 99 yards. The Badgers averaged 3.6 yards per play and converted just 2-of-12 third downs.
“Well, we didn’t do anything well enough today to win, and that’s the hard part,” Fickell said. “You can’t go on the road in this league and think that you’re going to be able to play that way and win a football game. You know, turn the ball over, not be able to rush the football, and give up some big plays. It’s just impossible.”
It’s another embarrassing loss in a season that has become increasingly difficult to make sense of. And at some point, the inability to sustain even a baseline level of competent football from one Saturday to the next has to fall squarely on the coaching staff.