Wisconsin football once faced hot seat concerns for head coach Luke Fickell. Now the Badgers coach helped put USC coach Lincoln Riley there. All thanks to Wisconsin trouncing the No. 16 Trojans 24-7 in Madison Saturday.
The fans flooded the field at Madison after watching their team pull off the latest top 25 upset on a wild Oct. 24.
USC joined No. 2 BYU, No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 11 Tennessee and No. 15 Iowa in losing during the same weekend. But Wisconsin delivered its first statement win in the era of Fickell.
The former Cincinnati coach once came in decorated with a past College Football Playoff resume. He even left the Bearcats during a time they transitioned to the Big 12 Conference. But now Fickell pulled off an epic masterclass of coaching by pivoting back to past Badgers tactics.
Wisconsin battered USC with its ground game, tallying 142 rushing yards there. The Badgers then delivered five sacks of USC quarterback Jayden Maiava, including intercepting him twice. Wisconsin turned to defense, ball control and owning the line of scrimmage to pull off this upset. These tactics turned the Badgers into a Rose Bowl and Cotton Bowl contender under past coaches Barry Alvarez, Bret Bielema, then Paul Chryst.
So the Badgers now will more than likely garner top 25 attention. Meanwhile, USC legend Keyshawn Johnson called out Riley following the rough loss, saying “it ain't working out” and “tough decisions must be made.”
USC's remaining schedule doesn't lighten either. The Trojans face three teams ranked in the top 10 (Ohio State, Indiana and UCLA) still.