2025 Wisconsin Offseason Thread

[SFBadger96]

Listened to a few seconds of Fickell's press conference today. He sounds like he fits the mold. Just gotta get back to winning. But...

Miami-OH: W
MTSU: W
@ Alabama: L
MD: W
@ Michigan: L
Iowa: probably L
OSU: L
@ Oregon: L
Washington: Toss-up, only because of the travel involved?
@Indiana: old days: W, now...?
Illinois: Probably L...really want to at least put down a question mark.
@Minnesota: legit ?

9-4 would be a spectacular season. 6-6 would be substantially better than last year, and not just because the Badgers would be back in a (terrible) bowl game. 5-6 would be better than anticipated assuming all of these teams are essentially the same as last year. But in the current world they aren't. Is Indiana really going to catch lightning in a bottle again? How is Iowa keeping up with the changes in CFB? Or are they? No idea what to expect out of the Gophers. Has Bert really turned Illinois into 2009-2012 era (i.e., Bert's good version of) Wisconsin? After last season, I'm confused about Washington.

This team could win every game it's favored in and go 3-9. WTH.

[bayareabadger]

Saw some pretty reliable rumblings that Wisconsin has taken a backseat in the new era of college football financials.

Honestly, pretty disappointing.

[847badgerfan]

None of the billionaires in Wisconsin care about the Badgers. 

Herb Kohl is dead.

[SFBadger96]

So what is Iowa's secret? Minnesota's? Illinois'? Indiana's?

I don't expect the Badgers to have the resources that OSU, USC, Michigan, Penn State, and Oregon do, but that's not an excuse for falling below the next tier of the Big Ten.

[betarhoalphadelta]

Well @bayareabadger simply said "back seat". That doesn't *necessarily* mean that they're behind some of those other schools.

I'm pretty sure if Wisconsin is in the back seat, Purdue's probably in the third row seating. Maybe even a towed trailer. 

BAB, did you have a ranking/list of the B1G? Is Wisconsin truly behind the B1G's dregs, or just behind the "power" teams?

[847badgerfan]

So what is Iowa's secret? Minnesota's? Illinois'? Indiana's?

I don't expect the Badgers to have the resources that OSU, USC, Michigan, Penn State, and Oregon do, but that's not an excuse for falling below the next tier of the Big Ten.

Indiana and Illinois have more NIL money for Hoops and Football than does Wisconsin from what I've read.

They both have wealthy donors who care about sports.

Illinois took three players from Wisconsin this year, because Wisconsin couldn't match $.

Wisconsin took a step back when it became evident that the coaching staff would not/could not adapt to the new normal and stopped recruiting.

[SFBadger96]

Last season Wisconsin was in the bottom third of the conference.

In 2017, Wisconsin lost the Championship game to Ohio State by 6, then won the Orange bowl, on its way to one of its best seasons ever. Prior to 2017, Wisconsin played in four of six Big Ten Championship games (one was a little suspect because of sanctions against other schools, Wisconsin won that game 70-31), and played in the Rose Bowl the year before the Championship game existed. Since 2017:

8-5 (2nd West), 10-4 (1st West), 4-3 (Covid), 9-4 (2nd West), 9-4 (2nd West, 3-way tie with MN and PU), 7-6 (Chryst fired mid-season, 5th West, Leonhard pulled off quite a turnaround to get them to bowl eligibility). Then Fickell: 7-6 (3rd West, embarrassed at home by Northwestern), 5-7 (ahead of only Northwestern, Maryland, and Purdue; probably better than Rutgers, but with a worse record). Money is not an excuse for Fickell to be worse than nine of the teams that finished ahead of Wisconsin last season.

Badge, that's interesting info about Indiana and Illinois, but I'm curious to see how that actually plays out in jimmys and joes. Sure, it helps, but this isn't the kind of divide that we see between the Badgers and Ohio State or Oregon.

I still think Fickell was the right hire at the time, but I'm concerned that he isn't the coach we need. That's nothing new--we had this conversation a lot last season. His seat (and McIntosh's) is getting pretty warm in my view, and this schedule may be the thing to save him, because no one really expects the Badgers to do very well against it.

[847badgerfan]

It was clear that Chryst didn't want to play the game, and it was also clear that Jimmy wasn't a recruiter.

Jonathon Taylor covered a lot of warts, as did playing in the West, while essentially it was just Wisconsin and Iowa and maybe Northwestern here and there.

[SFBadger96]

Re the West, so says Fickell. And it's true, to a degree. But the West didn't exist 1993-2010, during which Wisconsin won the conference 3 times, and finished in the top 3 8 times--three times more than it finished in the bottom half.

To be clear, I'm still hopeful that Fickell will prove himself, and I'm looking forward to this season, notwithstanding the brutal schedule. I have hope that the Badgers may surprise a few teams. But his time is running short...

[847badgerfan]

I want to get back to the identity Those teams had - and that starts in the trenches. The DL has been completely remade, and the OL now has a solid coach to compliment some very highly rated players.

The identity?

Run the football
Stop the run
Pressure the QB

We've seen none of that under Fickell. The team needs to show it this season, or he will lose the fanbase completely.

Oh, and... lose the T.E.A.M. vest. We're not the Goophs.

[bayareabadger]

None of the billionaires in Wisconsin care about the Badgers.

Herb Kohl is dead.

Welp, best figure out something. 

[bayareabadger]

Well @bayareabadger simply said "back seat". That doesn't *necessarily* mean that they're behind some of those other schools.

I'm pretty sure if Wisconsin is in the back seat, Purdue's probably in the third row seating. Maybe even a towed trailer.

BAB, did you have a ranking/list of the B1G? Is Wisconsin truly behind the B1G's dregs, or just behind the "power" teams?

I think they’re behind much of the mid-tier, which is a damn issue. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Indiana and Illinois have more NIL money for Hoops and Football than does Wisconsin from what I've read.

They both have wealthy donors who care about sports.

Illinois took three players from Wisconsin this year, because Wisconsin couldn't match $.

Wisconsin took a step back when it became evident that the coaching staff would not/could not adapt to the new normal and stopped recruiting.

I just don't understand why any wealthy donor would prioritize IU football?

The issue with football is that it's SUCH a large roster that you're going to need to financially support, and you know that in any recruiting battle where the money is even REMOTELY close to equal, a high-level player would much rather go to OSU/UM/ND locally, not even to mention helmets further away. 

I mean, if you're IU, throwing that money into football will get you what, 8-4 seasons? I realize they had a massive outlier season in 2024, but I don't know that anyone expects that to continue. And even fewer expect that it will EVER result in anything better than a CFP berth with an early exit as you get slaughtered by a real team. There's just no real ROI there...

Instead, why not throw that money around in basketball, where you're a legitimate blue blood, where you'll *win* recruiting battles against non-blue bloods with equal-ish $$, and you only have to be paying 13 players, not 85? The chance of actually getting ROI (final fours, national titles) is SO much higher.

[betarhoalphadelta]

I think they’re behind much of the mid-tier, which is a damn issue.

Gotcha. Thanks for clarifying. 

Yeah, Wisconsin being behind the mid-tier is an issue.