Coming off a 31-10 win over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, the Wisconsin Badgers are looking ahead to a road game against the Maryland Terrapins this weekend, hoping to improve to 7-3 and remain in the Big Ten Championship Game race.
Wisconsin got bowl eligible last week with the win over Rutgers, and they now end the season with Maryland, Purdue, and Minnesota. They’re currently in a six-way tie for third place in the Big Ten with a 4-2 conference record.
Heading into the week, the Badgers are 8.5-point
favorites over Maryland. Ahead of the game, head coach Luke Fickell had his weekly press conference, where he broke down the Rutgers win and looked ahead to this weekend.
Opening Statement
Good to see you guys. Obviously, wrapping it up, we talk about this idea of arrogance and delusion. I just want everybody to understand that last weekend was a really good game for us. I know some people probably expected to see a 31-10 score and think it was easy, but everybody who was there knows it was a battle and a grind.
More than anything, I think that’s what the rest of the season is going to look like, and that’s what we have to be prepared for. There can be a delusion in college football that teams should do certain things because of records or expectations, but that’s not the reality. Winning is good for the soul and it was a great weekend for us, but now it’s about getting back to work.
There are only about 20 guaranteed days left for us, and that means different things to different people in our program. For some seniors, there are only a few guaranteed games left. For younger players, nobody knows exactly what the future holds. Those are dynamics that people outside the program don’t always understand as you get into the last month of the season.
For us, the most important thing hasn’t changed. We have to keep moving forward. It’s about getting better, climbing, and growing. We’ve got a great opportunity to do that this week on the road against Maryland.
On improving the running game down the stretch…
There has to be more consistency. I think the backs need to have the ball in their hands a little more, and we have to find ways to let guys get into a rhythm.
Part of the challenge is that injuries have forced us to rotate multiple backs. Abu [Sama] hasn’t been completely healthy, so we’ve tried to spread carries around. Sometimes when you play three or more backs regularly, nobody gets a chance to get hot and build momentum.
I’ve challenged our staff to simplify things a bit. I’m not saying you go to a one-back system, and I’m not saying it has to be only two backs, but it’s difficult to consistently roll more than two guys through there and expect anybody to find a rhythm. We have to give some of those guys a greater opportunity to get on a roll and get moving forward.
On how Colton Joseph handled moving into the backup quarterback role…
It’s never easy. Last week was probably a little easier because he was dealing with an injury, and that allowed us to focus on getting him healthy. The reality of the situation settles in more when you win a football game and everybody starts wondering which direction you’re going to go.
Those situations are hard. They’re hard on the players, hard on the locker room, and hard on the dynamics within a team. We still have mostly 18-to-22-year-olds, and these are not easy things for anybody to go through.
This is another step in learning how to manage that quarterback room. We have to evaluate Colton’s health, his ability to play, and what gives us the best opportunity to succeed as we make a push over these last few weeks of the season.
On the challenges of facing a Maryland team playing for an interim coach…
You can definitely see a different energy and a certain freedom in how they’ve played recently. Teams in those situations often play a little freer, a little faster, and with less hesitation.
People make assumptions all the time based on records, coaching situations, or what happened the previous week. Then Saturday comes around and you realize college football is as unpredictable as ever. That unpredictability is what makes this sport what it is.
When you watch Maryland, you see a team playing with confidence and spirit. That’s what makes them dangerous.
On Ryan Hopkins earning another start at quarterback…
That’s the direction we’re planning to go this week. We’re not trying to hide that. Ryan played well enough for us to win, and it’s another opportunity for him to continue to grow.
At the same time, we feel like we have two quarterbacks who understand the offense and can run the offense. There are some differences between them, but probably more similarities than people realize.
Ryan will start the week as the guy, but there’s still a competitive nature to everything we do throughout the week. Our responsibility is to figure out what gives us the best opportunity to win, not just offensively but as a football team.
On whether Jacob Harris’ big-play ability was expected…
I don’t know if anybody expected some of the explosive plays he’s made. I don’t think anybody saw him as a guy who was going to have multiple long touchdowns based on what he did statistically at Bowling Green.
What we did believe was that he had the ability to become a playmaker for us. We felt he could be a natural fit in the passing game as he learned more about our offense and the nuances of playing tight end here.
He also wanted to become a more complete player because he has aspirations to play at the next level. I still think he’s only scratching the surface of what he can become, both as a big-play threat and as somebody our quarterbacks can consistently rely on.
On increased parity and unpredictability in college football…
I tried to wrap my head around that Saturday night. I do think teams are uniquely different now compared to four or five years ago.
Historically, teams tended to improve and play their best football late in the season. Now there are so many different dynamics at work inside a program. Once the season gets into its final month, there are a lot of conversations and distractions happening around players, especially younger players, and there really aren’t restrictions on what can be put in their ears.
I also think there’s more quarterback talent spread across the country because it’s difficult to keep capable backups. Those players transfer and go start elsewhere, which creates more competitive teams.
Depth is another major factor. It’s hard to keep depth, and it’s hard to build depth. Injuries that might seem minor on the outside can have significant ripple effects because teams no longer have veteran backups waiting in the wings. All of that has made the last month of the season feel very different from anything I’ve experienced before.
On what stood out from P.J. Wilkins’s performance at left tackle…
I thought he did a good job. There’s still room for growth, but I thought he played well. We rotated some at that position and gave Lucas [Simmons-Johannson] some snaps as well.
What stood out to me was not just what happened at left tackle, but how many different offensive linemen played. We had several guys rotating in and contributing, and that’s part of what happens late in the season when depth becomes critical.
I thought P.J.’s preparation last week was his best. His Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday practices were excellent. He’ll need another week like that and continue to build on it.
On the College Football Playoff’s expansion and elimination of conference championship game guarantees…
The immediate impact is that there’s no guaranteed path through a Big Ten Championship Game anymore.
There are definitely some exciting aspects to the changes, but there are also things that people are still trying to sort out. Honestly, I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about all the details. People were trying to explain it to me on the way down here, and I told them I’d rather talk about Maryland or Tuesday’s practice.
If people believe it’s good for college football, then this is the direction the sport is headed, and we’ll make it work.
On what he values most when evaluating quarterback play…
It starts with winning. It starts with whether a quarterback makes the people around him better.
There isn’t one statistic or metric that defines quarterback play. You can always find a number that makes somebody look good or another number that makes somebody look bad. What matters is leadership and finding ways to win football games.
Ryan helped us win a football game. Colton has helped us win big football games. We’re fortunate to have something we haven’t always had, which is two guys capable of playing winning football.
Our responsibility as coaches is to continue helping those players grow while figuring out how to use that depth in the best way possible.
On scoring decreasing across the Big Ten this season…
I honestly didn’t realize scoring was down. Maybe we helped that number after giving up only 10 points. We certainly didn’t help it the week before. As a defensive guy, I’m perfectly okay with scoring going down.
What I do know is that there’s no better-coached conference in college football. People can debate other leagues, but the quality of coaching in the Big Ten is exceptional. That’s why offensive success in this conference requires balance. You have to be able to run the football and throw the football because defenses are so well coached.
On Emerson Mandell’s development at right tackle…
Emerson has done a tremendous job this year and has grown up immensely. Last year he moved around between guard and tackle, and this year he even battled through a foot injury that kept us guessing about when he’d return.
More than anything, though, he’s matured. He’s learned how to control what he can control and focus on his own development regardless of where he lines up. He has always had tremendous talent and the ability to play this game for a long time. What’s been rewarding is watching him become more consistent and handle situations so much better than he did in the past.
That’s one of the really enjoyable parts of coaching. You always knew Emerson had the ability. Seeing him grow into the player and person he is becoming has been really gratifying.
On what Chris Brooks means to the program…
Chris has done an unbelievable job. He’s the epitome of what we want our culture to be.
He’s an incredibly selfless player who will sacrifice for everybody on the team in any way necessary. The difference with Chris is that he’s been mature ever since I arrived. What I’ve enjoyed watching is how much he’s developed as a player.
I didn’t realize this year’s touchdown was his first. I didn’t realize his first catch came a couple years ago at Nebraska. You’d never know any of that based on the way he carries himself.
Chris has always received recognition inside the program because there may not be anybody on the team that his teammates respect more. It’s nice to see him finally getting some recognition from outside the building as well.
