How Nebraska, Wisconsin can take the Big Ten by storm

Luke Fickell’s accolades go far beyond legacy-defining

When looking at Fickell’s head coaching résumé, it’s evident that he’s put his pathetic display at OSU in the dirt for good, and it’s all thanks to his time with the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Fickell succeeded Tommy Tuberville at UC when its football program was on a steady decline. Tuberville took over a 10-win squad, which soon lowered its standards to nine wins, then to seven, and then to four by the time he finally took a hike.

Fickell’s first run with the Cats ended at 4-8, neither better nor worse than Tuberville’s last. His second, however, saw the team surge to 11-2, which was then Cincy’s best record in almost 10 years.

From that point onward, Fickell never got the Bearcats less than nine wins in a season. He also led them to three AAC title games, two of which they won. His biggest accomplishment blows all of that out of the water, though, as it not only forever changed the image of the Cincinnati football program, but also that of the Group of 5 altogether.

In their 2021-22 season, the Bearcats went a perfect 13-0, deciding 11 of their wins by double-digit margins. That, of course, included their third conference title game, which they took from an 11-1 Houston squad by two touchdowns.

Their journey was so extravagant that it landed them in the CFP bracket, making them the first Group of 5 team to ever step on such a stage. While they lost in the semifinal to the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, they were still more competitive against them than the Michigan Wolverines were against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Witnessing that much national success at a smaller school—and altering the way we view the Group of 5 in the process—makes for an insanely appealing candidate on the coach-hiring scene, and that is exactly what caught Wisconsin’s eye.

Sure, the Big Ten will definitely be a jarring new environment for Fickell, but with that new environment should come better talent. It’s also worth noting that he won seven of his 12 encounters with Power 5 opponents while at Cincinnati (including Notre Dame). Of those seven, six were decided by multiple possessions. Therefore, bigger fish are seemingly not the end of the world as far as he’s concerned.

And for one last splash of assurance, we can reference the bowl win that he got over Oklahoma State in his first game with the Badgers back in December (though he admittedly didn’t have to do much to get it).