Luke Fickell, Wisconsin not letting loss against Ohio State linger

Wisconsin lost their third game of this season last weekend as No. 3 Ohio State pulled away from the Badgers in Madison. It was a missed opportunity but one that Luke Fickell knows that his team will need to put in their rearview as quickly as possible.

Fickell opened his press conference on Monday with a statement about cleansing themselves of what happened against the Buckeyes inside Camp Randall on Saturday. He said that everyone in their building already realize that the best thing for them to do is to move on from the 24-10 defeat as soon as possible.

“Obviously, we’ve got to move forward,” said Fickell. “I think that was probably the biggest message after the game and on Sunday when we came in. We cannot allow this to linger.”

“Losses are tough – one like that was really tough. It was a great atmosphere, a great environment, things like that, at night. It was a battle but you can’t allow it to linger,” Fickell continued. “You’ve got to kind of flush it down, move on, and learn. There’s a lot of things to learn from but begin to move forward.”

Fickell says this is a message that his staff has been sending from the very beginning. They hoped that Wisconsin would play at their best by the time that the last month came around. With November upon us, he doesn’t want this latest outcome to ruin the few opportunities that they have left.

“We’ve got four guaranteed games, we’ve got one month guaranteed to us left in the season,” said Fickell. “We’ve got to find ways to continue to grow and get better.”

“I know I’ve said it over and over and over again. But the best teams play the best ball at the end of the year. November is what you, really, have always kind of talked about,” said Fickell. “Our ability to, whatever the situation, find a way, consistently, to play your best ball at the end of the year has been an emphasis since we started in the spring. It was an emphasis when we started in fall camp and was a big emphasis on Sunday for us.”

Even at 5-3 and 3-2 in the Big Ten, there’s a lot for Wisconsin to still play for. Over their final four, they should clinch bowl eligibility at some point. They could also have a berth in the Big Ten title game on the line with there currently being a four-way tie for first in the division.

That’s why, although losing to Ohio State in a game that was up for grabs in moments was a disappointment, Fickell wants the Badgers to realize what’s ahead of them rather than look at what’s already behind them.

“This is what we’ve been talking about. This is the final stretch,” Fickell said. “We’ve got a lot of things that are sitting right in front of us. Now we’ve got an opportunity for ourselves to go and take something that we want.