Luke Fickell praises Braedyn Locke after hot start vs. USC

The Wisconsin Badgers took advantage of a critical special teams’ turnover by the USC Trojans in the first half on Saturday. The Badgers jumped out to a 21-10 halftime lead on the 13th-ranked Trojans. Shortly before heading into the locker room, Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell spoke with CBS sideline reporter, Jenny Dell about quarterback Braedyn Locke‘s ability to take control of the Badgers offense.

“I told you. He has control of this offense. Last week was a good week, but those four games last year were really good. He can do everything we want him to do. Maybe a little bit different,” Fickell explained to Dell

Fickell was also happy with his defensive line but also knows there’s more football to play.

“It’s a four quarter game. We’ve really got to get after it. They’ve got too many yards. Too many mistakes on our part. We’ve gotta stay after it. This game’s gonna be a great four quarter game,” Fickell finished.

The Badgers defensive line was in the backfield for much of the first half, forcing Trojans quarterback Miller Moss to dodge defenders in the backfield and step up in the pocket on multiple occasions.

Former USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is now the safeties coach for Wisconsin. And the Badgers took advantage of three Trojans’ turnovers in the first half. Wisconsin running back Tawee Walker had two rushing touchdowns in the first half. He now has three career games with two or more touchdowns (his first with Wisconsin).

USC currently sits at 2-1 on the 2024 season, the same record as Wisconsin. It should be a highly entertaining second half in Los Angeles.