Luke Fickell addresses Wisconsin's mid-game struggles: 'We've gotta do something'

It was a rough first half for Wisconsin against Minnesota on Friday, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. The Badgers managed only 43 yards of offense against the Golden Gophers in the first half and they trail 14-0 at the break.

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell addressed his team’s struggles when speaking with CBS at halftime of the game. Fickell was asked in particular what his message was going to be for the offense at the half.

“We’ve gotta do something. I mean we’ve got 44 yards of offense,” Luke Fickell said. “[The Minnesota defense has] done a great job, but heck, we’ve gotta come out here, we’ve gotta turn the thing loose a little bit. We’ve gotta make some plays.”

Wisconsin fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo a couple of weeks back, but there has been no improvement since. The Badgers suffered a 44-25 loss to Nebraska last weekend and are once again struggling on Saturday.

While the Wisconsin offense has struggled against the Golden Gophers, the defense has been up and down. Minnesota put up 202 yards of offense in the first half and averaged 6.3 yards per play.

Minnesota running back Marcus Major got loose for a 40-yard run in the first half, while the Golden Gophers also had pass plays of 37 and 21 yards.

“We can’t give up the big play,” Fickell said. “We can’t give up the big play, we’ve gotta continue to put pressure. We’ve gotta stop the run and make them throw the football.”

This is a big game for Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin football program. The Badgers are currently 5-6 and need one more win to become bowl eligible. This obviously hasn’t been the season Wisconsin hoped for, but reaching a bowl game would at least be a nice way to end the year.

We will see if the Badgers offense can get anything going in the second half and turn things around. If not, it could be a long offseason in Madison.