One of the biggest questions surrounding the Wisconsin Badgers’ 2026 season is how long Luke Fickell remains the head coach.
A strong football season could put all that noise to rest, especially with such a massive class of 2027 set to come to town.
On paper, Wisconsin has an extremely favorable schedule, and even though On3’s Ari Wasserman named Fickell a bottom-five coach in the Big Ten, there’s far more reason to believe he’ll trend up rather than down any further.
“Time flies, but it doesn’t feel all that long ago that Fickell was one of the hottest commodities in coaching,” Wasserman wrote. “Fickell went to Wisconsin hoping to take the Badgers from good to great, but it has been a disaster since he stepped on campus.”
Of course, Wasserman acknowledged his 57-18 record at Cincinnati, a team he made history with, taking them to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Wasserman believes Wisconsin “hasn’t given him the resources necessary to compete up to this point,” and injuries certainly have something to do with that.
There’s another fresh slate ahead of him in 2026, so now it’s just about finding a way to stay ranked ahead of David Braun, Greg Schiano, Barry Odom, and Mike Locksley.
This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Where does Luke Fickell sit in On3’s Big Ten head coach rankings?
Reporting by Jordon Lawrenz, Badgers Wire / Badgers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jordon Lawrenz, Badgers Wire | USA TODAY Network
