Luke Fickell admits Wisconsin football has ‘a lot of work to do’ following 5-7 season

Wisconsin missed a bowl game after going just 5-7 this past season

It was a difficult season for Wisconsin football and head coach Luke Fickell, as the Badgers finished 5-7. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Wisconsin football's season ended earlier than most expected, as the Badgers failed to qualify for a bowl game after going just 5-7.

The final nail-in-the-coffin moment came on Black Friday with a 24-7 loss to Minnesota, the fifth straight for a team that was once 5-2 and seemed to be riding high.

Wisconsin (5-7, 3-6) lost a tough 16-13 contest to top-ranked Oregon in mid-November, but still had two opportunities to reach six wins vs. Nebraska and Minnesota. They were outscored 68-32 in those games.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, a lot of things we’ve got to get done,” Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell said. “We’ve got a lot of things we have to fix up, correct. Unfortunately, we’ll have a lot of time to do it.

“It starts with checking ourselves. Leadership is the key to what it is that we do and I tak full responsibility for that.”

Fickell, in his third season with the Badgers and second full after coming on for the 2022 bowl game, had reached seven straight postseason games before this season. For the Badgers, it had been 22 years since they last failed to qualify for a bowl.

Wisconsin was definitely put to the test this season, playing Alabama in a non-conference game before being matched up with USC, Penn State and Oregon within the Big Ten. They failed to win any of those games, marking the second straight year they went winless vs. ranked teams.

“We’re not in a good place,” Fickell said. “We’re 5-7 and we’re just not even playing well. That’s the thing; no excuse whether it’s injuries, this or that, I could sit here and tell you all of the things that maybe have cost us but it comes down to we have a job to do.”

Braedyn Locke threw for just over 1,900 yards but was picked off 10 times with 13 touchdowns. Tawee Walker ran for a team-leading 864 yards with 10 touchdowns while Vinny Anthony II had 672 yards receiving and four scores. 

The Badgers currently have a Top 25 recruiting class for 2025 according to most services led by defensive players Mason Posa and Jaylen Williams. Quarterback Carter Smith from Florida recently committed to the program.