What did Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell say about Penn State to start the week?

Penn State-Wisconsin week is officially underway. Both head coaches held their first news conference on Monday ahead of the No. 3 Nittany Lions’ visit to Madison for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff inside of the famed Camp Randall Stadium. Oddsmakers are listing head coach James Franklin’s team as nearly a touchdown favorite. And, Badgers coach Luke Fickell made clear during his initial chat with reporters ahead of kickoff that his team will need to be ready. But, he also doesn’t want his team to treat this contest differently than any others.

“I hope that our guys don’t look at somebody different to see if they’re ranked and stuff like that,” Fickell said. “Obviously, I know that there’s things that people have talked to them about, but, it’s just another great opportunity for us. We knew in this league, this is what we signed up for. And, week in and week out, if we start to look at it differently…look, it’s a night game, it’s later in the day, we know we’re gonna create an environment that is really exciting and fun, and I think that is what we need to look at.

“Not, hey what are these guys ranked? Try to put all of those things behind us, and just recognize, this is a big game, because we have an opportunity to make it a big game. And, the way that our guys have played the last few weeks, make it a big game. We talked last week about payback and redemption and the way that we played last year. You talk about those things, but, like I say, once the ball is kicked off, none of that matters. Once that is kicked, none of that matters, and we need to continue to focus on the things that matter.”

Fickell praises the Penn State defensive line

As most can imagine, much of Fickell’s news conference was focused on his own team. The Badgers are flying high as winners of three straight, all of which came in blowout fashion. We’ll cover some of what was said about Saturday’s home team below. First, though, we’ll review the lone direct question the Wisconsin coach was asked about Penn State. It focused on the Lions’ defensive line.

“This week, it’s a little bit different, in the sense that you don’t know exactly where they’re going to be,” Fickell said. “They move all around. They’ve got really, really good athletes. I think obviously that’s where the strength of their team is. Their ability to wreak havoc and create some of those plays up front. I think athletically, but also physically and speed-wise, is the challenge.

It’s not as clean at times, like as you prepare for it throughout the week. I think when you kind of start to break those guys down, it’s different to prepare for. Tere are going to be a lot of different players that can do a lot of different things.”

He said it

On the chance to put home field advantage into play during a primetime game with No. 3 Penn State, Fickell said:

“Home-field advantage is what you make of it. And, this place has been a home-field advantage, obviously, over time. But, you’ve got to make it a home-field advantage. When Coach [Barry] Alvarez came and visited earlier in the season a little bit, he kept talking about the environment and making it a home field advantage, but, you have to make it one.

“You have to create some of those things. You have to create that energy, and our guys understand that. It doesn’t just happen because they make the game at 6:30. That doesn’t give us an opportunity to have a home-field advantage unless we make it one. I think we put a lot of that upon ourselves. If we don’t go out there and start fast and do the things that we’ve done the last few weeks, then it isn’t one.”