Wisconsin Football 2024

[yourout]

1 minute ago, yfinn6 said:

That was a horrendous performance. This team, and really program, has a lot of problems. 

Ultimately Fickel was a bad hire.

I don't blame Mac for doing it because it was the logical thing to do but it's just a bad fit on every level.

[yfinn6]

6 minutes ago, yourout said:

Ultimately Fickel was a bad hire.

I don't blame Mac for doing it because it was the logical thing to do but it's just a bad fit on every level.

Perhaps. But Longo was an equally bad hire trying to force a square peg into a round hole. 

Brayden Locke has spent most of his college career now with Longo and he's shown ZERO improvement. Longo isn't anything without All American or 1st round NFL talent. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

Attended a wedding reception tonight, so I only saw a small bit of the game & heard a few numbers. I knew that if PSU was successful at wearing us down up front, these guys were sure to attempt to do the same. 329 yards on the ground while only having to throw five passes in the last 3 quarters pretty much tells the story. I saw the last possession for Iowa, where we knew they were running the ball & still could do nothing to stop it. Reminded me of ourselves, back in the day.

Continue to recruit & develop linemen on both sides. Bye week coming at a good time.

[LouisEly]

3 hours ago, nate82 said:

The WR’s on this team are actually talented and good for a change

Sure didn't look so today.  Or last week. 

I would say that Locke is bad if he was missing open receivers.  I didn't see many open receivers.  And if they are open, they drop the pass.

[LouisEly]

2 hours ago, nate82 said:

The absolute worst QB in Badgers history Locke.

If you put Hornibrook on this team - or surrounded Locke with the teams that Hornibrook had - you wouldn't be saying this.

[LouisEly]

3 hours ago, nate82 said:

But this team is not short on talent.  There is talent there

How many of them do you foresee playing in the NFL?

I don't see a single one except for maybe Mahlman.  Nelson and Walker possibly a practice squadder.

[LouisEly]

1 hour ago, Sixtolezcano said:

The vaunted Wisconsin defense will give up over 300 yards rushing, 400 total yards and over 40 points to IOWA???

That's the problem.

The game is won or lost on the line of scrimmage.  They got absolutely owned on the LOS the last two weeks, both side of the ball.

[Jim French Stepstool]

3 hours ago, nate82 said:

This team can’t run the ball because the other teams defense knows Locke can’t beat them.  So just play the run and watch Locke mess up on pass plays.

They can't run the ball because, well, they can't run the ball. At least not vs defenses that defeat you up front like we saw last week & tonight. PSU didn't do anything special to 'play the run' & I doubt Iowa did either. Throw in Lockes' lack of mobility & it's a killer. There's a reason why Mordecai & Van Dyke were anointed to start the last two years--ability to make some stuff happen with your feet, to augment a run game that just isn't philosophically emphasized like it once was.

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

2 hours ago, Sixtolezcano said:

The vaunted Wisconsin defense will give up over 300 yards rushing, 400 total yards and over 40 points to IOWA???

I mean, yeah, if you can't stop the run Iowa will score a lot of points. This is the fifth game this year they were at 38-42 points. 

I don't know who described UWs' defense as 'vaunted'. For three weeks in a row they were pretty damned good vs mediocrity. They then held up well for a bit over half a game vs PSU before wearing down. Then bullied today. Five or six effective bodies rotating on the line allows LBs & secondary to make plays. We have about two. I'm looking for effective hits on run plays, and the most consistency I see there is from Hunter Wohler, a safety. That's a problem.

[JosephC]

13 hours ago, yourout said:

Ultimately Fickel was a bad hire.

I don't blame Mac for doing it because it was the logical thing to do but it's just a bad fit on every level.

McIntosh gets full blame if this move does not work out.

UW got off to a poor start in 2022 (which seems fairly routine for the program), but they still had a highly successful coach who was coming off a 9-4 year (that includes a 6-3 record in the Big 10 and a bowl win).

Then instead of going with Leonard, who was highly liked and respected among the players, he decided to go in a completely different direction.

I have stopped watching Badger football but would not give up on Fickell yet.  Even though the transfer process would lead one to believe that rebuilding should occur much faster, I don't know if I buy that concept or not.  The Badgers did a complete change in philosophy on both sides of the ball, and I would argue that Fickell needs four full seasons before we can really pass any judgement on him.

But IMO it all goes back to McIntosh.  If Fickell puts this program back to 9-10 wins pretty much every season, then McIntosh gets credit.  If Wisconsin turns into a 7-6 (4-5 conference record) program, McIntosh should face the consequences of that.  This is all fully and completely on him.

[yourout]

And of course Iowa rushes for a paltry 80 yards against UCLA in a 20 to 17 loss.

[LouisEly]

13 hours ago, yourout said:

And of course Iowa rushes for a paltry 80 yards against UCLA in a 20 to 17 loss.

Funny thing, UCLA had a four-man front (4 DL or 3 DL plus a stand up OLB) with three off-ball LBs and eight in the box all night and forced their 3rd string QB to pass and he threw two INTs.  And when the QB ran, they actually made it a point to hit him and knocked him out of the game.

[BrewerFan]

On 10/20/2024 at 8:25 PM, nate82 said:

I think the biggest reason the team has turned around is that the offensive line is finally producing.  The run and pass blocking has improved dramatically since the beginning of the season.

Agreed. You can do whatever you want, but until you got that fixed, the program was going nowhere. 

It's like the OL just fell apart 3-4, maybe 5 years ago and stopped being an elite unit. Some good players on it, but not the dominant unit it'd largely been since Barry's '93 team.

Not a shock, but more for Wisconsin than any other team, it all starts with establishing the run.

 

It's been just as long since we've been hoping for good to elite QB play and haven't got it. Graham Mertz looked like a program altering recruit and...well, he was not. Then back to back years of disappointing transfers. 

Keep the OL playing well, and finally get the QB play we've been hoping for and this program may turn it around. Just saw Texas and their record in the first two years under Sarkisian and they were 13-12. Then he got his guys in there and they took off. I don't expect us to be UT, but sure be nice to see year 3 be the year Fickell can turn it around. 

[BrewerFan]

On 11/2/2024 at 9:47 PM, yourout said:

Ultimately Fickel was a bad hire.

I don't blame Mac for doing it because it was the logical thing to do but it's just a bad fit on every level.

Well...maybe Leonhard would be a better option. 

I know he was pretty highly respected and did a good job as a recruiter(though he played a limited role from what I understand). He's young, wanted the job. 

Fickell was the "HR" hire. The guy everyone wanted, the guy who turned down other jobs. If he doesn't get it done(and I'm giving him at least another year at LEAST, probably 2)...then you go back to the homegrown guy? 

"Suffering" through the 10-win teams that couldn't beat OSU was a lot better than this. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

2 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

Well...maybe Leonhard would be a better option. 

I know he was pretty highly respected and did a good job as a recruiter(though he played a limited role from what I understand). He's young, wanted the job. 

Fickell was the "HR" hire. The guy everyone wanted, the guy who turned down other jobs. If he doesn't get it done(and I'm giving him at least another year at LEAST, probably 2)...then you go back to the homegrown guy? 

 

I was a Leonhard guy, but I didn't think they could get Fickell & when they did, I was fine with the decision. Obviously the jury is still out on the current HC & staff and I think you're right, probably two years still to go unless there's a strange combination of ineptitude/dissention in '25.

I'm about as positive as you can be, that there is zero chance Leonhard ever comes back to Madison unless Macintosh is no longer here.

[BrewerFan]

4 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

I'm about as positive as you can be, that there is zero chance Leonhard ever comes back to Madison unless Macintosh is no longer here.

I don't understand why. It's Leonhard's dream job(or was) and McIntosh wasn't down on Leonhard, he just went for the experienced big-time hire. 

I can't speak for Leonhard(or McIntosh for that matter) but I know Leonhard was very highly thought of by the people around the AD. 

Possible Leonhard may not want to come back, but it's one of the top 25-30 jobs in CFB. Not sure he is in the position to turn the job down if offered...in a couple of years(I agree, Fickell still has a couple years before it's a concern). 

[Jim French Stepstool]

2 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

I don't understand why. It's Leonhard's dream job(or was) and McIntosh wasn't down on Leonhard, he just went for the experienced big-time hire. 

I can't speak for Leonhard(or McIntosh for that matter) but I know Leonhard was very highly thought of by the people around the AD. 

Possible Leonhard may not want to come back, but it's one of the top 25-30 jobs in CFB. Not sure he is in the position to turn the job down if offered...in a couple of years(I agree, Fickell still has a couple years before it's a concern). 

I no longer have my season tix & can't describe myself as any kind of a big 'insider', but I sometimes hear scuttlebutt & what I heard FWIW:

Leonhard was told during his interim stretch by Mac that he was getting the job. Mac liked Fickell but there was a belief he would be really tough to pry from Cincy due to not wanting to uproot the family--IIRC one of his kids is special-needs. When he showed true interest in taking the gig & the money was doable from UWs' side of things, it threw Mac for a loop. And It didn't help that, in his last three regular season games, JL went 1-2 with the only W a one-point lackluster job vs Nebraska.

So Mac did a 'never mind' to Leonhard & hired Fickell. I think this is plausible enough that I buy it. And while I thought at the time Fickell was a good hire, if this scenario is accurate I don't blame JL one bit. 

You are correct in that Leonhard has many, many fans in the athletic dept. 

[yfinn6]

10 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

I no longer have my season tix & can't describe myself as any kind of a big 'insider', but I sometimes hear scuttlebutt & what I heard FWIW:

Leonhard was told during his interim stretch by Mac that he was getting the job. Mac liked Fickell but there was a belief he would be really tough to pry from Cincy due to not wanting to uproot the family--IIRC one of his kids is special-needs. When he showed true interest in taking the gig & the money was doable from UWs' side of things, it threw Mac for a loop. And It didn't help that, in his last three regular season games, JL went 1-2 with the only W a one-point lackluster job vs Nebraska.

So Mac did a 'never mind' to Leonhard & hired Fickell. I think this is plausible enough that I buy it. And while I thought at the time Fickell was a good hire, if this scenario is accurate I don't blame JL one bit. 

You are correct in that Leonhard has many, many fans in the athletic dept. 

Another tidbit I heard that possibly moved Mac away from Leonhard was that Leonhard felt the team didn't need to make a drastic change with respect to NIL, and where the team was headed, and Mac disagreed. There were some rumblings that Leonhard was seen a bit as another Chryst with respect to energizes boosters (Chryst hated the schmoozing part of college football, where Bielema was quite good at it). The Gridiron Club being an example. I don't know if Chryst lost the lockerroom but there was some fear the lockerroom wasn't entirely behind Leonhard, either. I think it was just a weird year in general.

Fickell was more willing to look at the program and where it was with NIL and the college landscape and that also led Mac to go away from Leonhard.

I hated the move at the time because I figured Leonhard would build a great staff and keep the continuity with a good defense but when thinking objectively, I figured Fickell would be the slam dunk hire as it was described at the time.

Hindsight is 20/20. Leonhard isn't going to be back with UW in any capacity until Mac is gone. 

[nate82]

17 minutes ago, yfinn6 said:

Another tidbit I heard that possibly moved Mac away from Leonhard was that Leonhard felt the team didn't need to make a drastic change with respect to NIL, and where the team was headed, and Mac disagreed.

I think this is the real reason Leonhard didn't get the job.  He didn't want to make the changes or didn't want to take a step back and look at the team and make any kind of changes.  I believe Mac wanted to make a change from Chryst and to go in a whole new direction and Leonhard wanted to keep everything like it was. 

 

19 minutes ago, yfinn6 said:

I hated the move at the time because I figured Leonhard would build a great staff and keep the continuity with a good defense but when thinking objectively, I figured Fickell would be the slam dunk hire as it was described at the time.

I disagree here at least on the offensive side of things.  I don't think Leonhard would have looked at the program and thought there would need a change or would have tried to change things on the offensive side.  It would have been 100% run dependent on the offensive side and that just doesn't work.  It is the same problem I have with a majority of Bears fans and yes Badgers fans are 100% like Bears fans.  This horrible idea that the Badgers can only be a run offense and heavily rely on defense is just dumb.  Bears fans haven't gotten over the '85 Bears with Payton and that defense.  Badgers fans haven't gotten over the Alvarez years where it was run heavy with a good defense and a few years after that.  

It is like some fans are like the program has to be 100% run heavy and a dominant defense and that is the only way for the team to win.  It is just a horrible way of thinking and I believe Leonhard had bought into that.  He would have just brought in some below average offensive coordinator who would have ran a run heavy offense.  Defensively this team is probably a bit better with Leonhard but I don't think he gets the talent to come in as he like PC didn't like the transfer portal.  You have to play the transfer portal game if you don't then you are losing out on talent. 

While I really like Leonhard I don't think he would make a good HC.  He is a great DC but as a HC he would just be average to below average and I believe that is why he hasn't been mentioned all that much for a HC position. 

[yfinn6]

I didn't say anything about offensive style or identity, but I would take a good running game any day over the garbage that we see now. I was in favor of trying something else offensively but this ain't it. 

If it's true that Sean Lewis was rumored to be Leonhard's target as OC, then I would have been intrigued to see what he could do here. I didn't think the offense needed an overhaul but the line play was subpar for several years under Rudolph. I think Blazek is a good coach and hopefully he can right the ship with line play, which will dictate how successful the offense is or isn't. 

Brayden Locke also is a killer but at this point there just isn't a better option on the roster. Sucks. 

[LouisEly]

4 hours ago, nate82 said:

I think this is the real reason Leonhard didn't get the job.  He didn't want to make the changes or didn't want to take a step back and look at the team and make any kind of changes.  I believe Mac wanted to make a change from Chryst and to go in a whole new direction and Leonhard wanted to keep everything like it was.

No and yes.  Fickell was always their #1 target.  But Fickell was luke-warm (pun intended) at first and thus the thought that Leonhard was going to have to be the guy and they told him the job was his.  When Leonhard interviewed, he talked too much about how he would keep things the same and not enough about what he would change, and then the lackluster finish.  So they went back to Fickell and then Fickell said he's in.

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, yfinn6 said:

I didn't say anything about offensive style or identity, but I would take a good running game any day over the garbage that we see now. I was in favor of trying something else offensively but this ain't it. 

If it's true that Sean Lewis was rumored to be Leonhard's target as OC, then I would have been intrigued to see what he could do here. I didn't think the offense needed an overhaul but the line play was subpar for several years under Rudolph. I think Blazek is a good coach and hopefully he can right the ship with line play, which will dictate how successful the offense is or isn't. 

Brayden Locke also is a killer but at this point there just isn't a better option on the roster. Sucks. 

Yep. Just about all offenses are dependent on the run to some extent. And when you change as drastically as they did, you'd better not exacerbate the situation by losing your starting QB---portal-picked to lead the new offense---two years in a row. we're now finding out what it's like to do a 180-degree change under that scenario. Alvarez built from the existing culture & capitalized on the strengths that were readily available to him in the state & surrounding areas, which was a no-brainer & yet genius. Is it the only way? AFA UW is concerned that depends on how good Fickell is at the modern-day state of the college game. That means schmoozing & BS'ing the portal talent that fills your needs, allocating the funds made available to pay players, and in his particular case surrounding yourself with an exceptional staff. I feel the last one can't be emphasized enough as I don't feel he's as much a game-day coach as he is a delegator.

Had JL gotten the job & Sean Lewis been hired I'd have looked at that as a smart move. And I think Blazek has been the best hire Fickell has made since he's been here. An OL coach that appears to be in the mold of some of the previous guys they've had, with the added ability (or so it seems) to recruit. I just hope his talents aren't wasted under this system.

[Jim French Stepstool]

5 hours ago, yfinn6 said:

Another tidbit I heard that possibly moved Mac away from Leonhard was that Leonhard felt the team didn't need to make a drastic change with respect to NIL, and where the team was headed, and Mac disagreed. 

I'd never heard that but it's easily believable. JL came from a development/hard work background so I'm sure making guys better would've been a cornerstone with him. You wouldn't expect anything less from a 5'8" tall walkon that wound up playing in the NFL for ten years or whatever it was.

I am a little intrigued thinking about what kind of staff he'd have put together had he gotten the gig. He has to have a ton of contacts, and he's a very smart guy.

[HarryDoyle]

Jack Del Rio is resigning after OWI.

Wisconsin's Jack Del Rio to resign after crash, OWI arrest - ESPN

[Fear The Chorizo]

On 11/10/2024 at 3:55 PM, Jim French Stepstool said:

Yep. Just about all offenses are dependent on the run to some extent. And when you change as drastically as they did, you'd better not exacerbate the situation by losing your starting QB---portal-picked to lead the new offense---two years in a row. we're now finding out what it's like to do a 180-degree change under that scenario. Alvarez built from the existing culture & capitalized on the strengths that were readily available to him in the state & surrounding areas, which was a no-brainer & yet genius. Is it the only way? AFA UW is concerned that depends on how good Fickell is at the modern-day state of the college game. That means schmoozing & BS'ing the portal talent that fills your needs, allocating the funds made available to pay players, and in his particular case surrounding yourself with an exceptional staff. I feel the last one can't be emphasized enough as I don't feel he's as much a game-day coach as he is a delegator.

Had JL gotten the job & Sean Lewis been hired I'd have looked at that as a smart move. And I think Blazek has been the best hire Fickell has made since he's been here. An OL coach that appears to be in the mold of some of the previous guys they've had, with the added ability (or so it seems) to recruit. I just hope his talents aren't wasted under this system.

Barry's road grader offensive lines and defenses that brought Bucky into the national spotlight at all were built on 5th year seniors mixed in with a handful of blue chip recruits at key positions - they were men literally playing against boys and the physicality wore more talented opponents down.  

 

College football isn't that way anymore with transfers and NIL, so Bucky needs a new way to build a winning program when the conference is now chock full of programs that will poach the 5 star recruits at will away from madison.