Luke Fickell shares what consecutive Iowa wins means for Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Badgers and Iowa Hawkeyes are renewing their rivalry this week. It’s a game that Badgers head coach Luke Fickell knows is going to be important to win for the first time since he got to Madison.

With the Hawkeyes now holding a two-game winning streak in the game, Fickell knows the emphasis is continuing to grow on the need for the Badgers to win. That’s because, even in a changing landscape, this rivalry still matters to these teams.

“It’s just another thing to add upon the significance of these things,” Luke Fickell said. “We don’t lose sight of those things. I know that the Big Ten has grown incredibly and there’s a lot of mountain to climb in this league, and it’s still not changing how important some of those rivalry games are. It’s just, you get in the midst of it, and it’s something you talk about in camp, it’s something you spend a night on in camp. And then sometimes, I don’t say you forget about it, but you kind of put it off the side, because of the nature of the schedule that you have.”

The all-time series between Wisconsin and Iowa has been incredibly close. The Badgers hold a slight 49-46-2 lead. The longest winning streak ever, for either side, was 10 by Iowa between 1985 and 1996. However, the two-game winning streak that Iowa is currently on is their first multi-game winning streak since 2008 and 2009.

Luke Fickell added that part of why the game matters so much to players is that they’re largely local to the region. That means that the players on both teams are familiar with the rivalry and both programs, adding to that desire to win.

“But then when the week comes up, there’s definitely a little something extra,” Fickell said. “And those guys understand. A majority of our kids are from this general area, right in the 300 mile radius, I’d say a good 50, 60 percent of our kids. So they understand that they probably have been recruited at some point in time by Iowa as well. So, they know, not just the history, but they know a lot more about that place as well. So, I think those kinds of things add up to make what rivalries really are.”

Luke Fickell lost his first game against Iowa last season 15-6. That game was played in Madison. Now, with both teams sitting at 5-3 on the season, the Badgers will have to win on the road to snap the streak.