Why Wisconsin loss to No. 1 Oregon is biggest heartbreak yet under Luke Fickell

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin linebacker Jake Chaney paused as he sat at a podium inside the McClain Center late Saturday night, pent-up emotions from four seasons of failure steadily rising from his chest into his throat. They weren’t his failures, per se, though he took some of the blame as a program leader anyway. But the feeling after Wisconsin had missed out on yet another golden opportunity during a 16-13 loss to No. 1 Oregon at Camp Randall Stadium was both clear and familiar.

This one, he said, sucked — more than any other game he had played, not only for the narrow margin of defeat but also because of what it represented.

“For my four years here, I don’t think we’ve won a big game,” Chaney said. “You can say Penn State was close, say all these other teams were close. But I feel like, truly, that came down to the last drive. Just being that close, you always say, ‘You’re so close, you’re so close.’ But for a lot of guys that’s kind of your last opportunity.”

There’s no shame in losing by three points to the top-ranked team in the country. As safety Hunter Wohler had said earlier in the week, nobody expected Wisconsin to beat Oregon anyway, which is why the Badgers were two-touchdown underdogs. Wisconsin did everything it could defensively with one of its best performances all season.

The Ducks, playing their eighth game in as many weekends, limped across the finish line while struggling to handle some of the Badgers’ disguised coverages. Wisconsin held Oregon — a team that had beaten each of its last four opponents by at least three touchdowns — 20 points below its season scoring average and kept Heisman Trophy candidate Dillon Gabriel from throwing a touchdown pass for the first time all season.

It didn’t change the end result. And in a results business, that’s what matters most. Wisconsin simply has not been able to break through by securing a meaningful victory for a long, long time. The Badgers haven’t beaten a ranked opponent in 1,114 days — a streak that could continue into next year. During that time, they are 0-7 in such opportunities.

The issues Wisconsin faces predated Luke Fickell’s tenure, but he hasn’t managed to fix them in two seasons as head coach. Fickell is now 0-6 at Wisconsin against ranked teams, and his best victory is a win in the regular-season finale a year ago against a Minnesota team that finished with a losing record.

Saturday night could have been a moment that marked a turning point under Fickell. Instead, the Badgers were left reeling from an outcome that Fickell described as “crushing,” with two regular-season games left to try to qualify for a bowl game.

“To not be able to find a way again to come out on top is difficult,” Fickell said. “Those guys in that locker room, obviously they fought their butts off, they did everything we asked them to do. They played the way we wanted them to play and we expected them to play.

“We just right now haven’t found a way to be able to finish. The games that have come down to the fourth quarter, the games that have come down to the most critical times, the deep, deep waters, we still have yet to get over the hump and find a way to pull it out and to continue to do what we need to do.”

Oregon finished with 354 total yards to Wisconsin’s 226. (John Fisher / Getty Images)

Fickell compared Wisconsin’s slate to that of an NFL schedule. The Badgers played their third top-five team at home this season, a program record, after previously losing to No. 4 Alabama 42-10 and to No. 3 Penn State 28-13. But the quality of competition won’t make anyone feel better about where the program stands. This is a new landscape in the Big Ten, and it’s Fickell’s job to help the Badgers keep pace. Fickell is 12-11 at Wisconsin, including 8-8 in conference play.

This one got away from Wisconsin (5-5, 3-4 Big Ten) for a simple reason: offensive futility and, more specifically, poor quarterback play. Oregon (11-0, 8-0) no doubt has a talented defense, but Wisconsin needed better from quarterback Braedyn Locke, who completed 12 of 28 passes for 96 yards with one touchdown and a late interception. Locke said afterward that there were “definitely tight quarters” on his throws and that Oregon didn’t give up much defensively.

It marked the fewest yards passing for Wisconsin in a loss since a 2018 game against Penn State when Jack Coan was making the second start of his career. Locke was starting his 10th game in two seasons after taking over for injured starters. Locke’s career pass efficiency rating of 109.8 ranks 22nd out of the 23 Wisconsin quarterbacks who have started at least two games since 1993 (ahead of only Jay Macias’ 106.4). Wisconsin’s future depends on finding a capable quarterback, though there are clearly issues beyond one player.

Fickell said Wisconsin needed to do a better job of establishing the run and not putting Locke in as many third-and-long situations. Wisconsin went 1-for-12 on third down, with its average third down distance 8.9 yards. Locke completed 1 of 7 passes on third down for 5 yards and took two sacks. One of his best throws, a left-handed third-down scramble for a touchdown to receiver Vinny Anthony II, was wiped out by an ineligible receiver downfield call on left tackle Jack Nelson.

“Obviously, it’s easiest to talk about the quarterback position,” Fickell said. “But I just think, as a whole, there’s so many of those things we’ve got to get better at in order to put ourselves in a position where it’s not all on the shoulders of a quarterback.”

Despite their offensive issues, the Badgers still led 13-6 entering the fourth quarter, and fans at Camp Randall Stadium were ready to witness magic in the team’s first game against a No. 1 opponent in 14 years. Oregon faced a fourth-and-9 at Wisconsin’s 41-yard line, leading to an epic rendition of House of Pain’s “Jump Around” that rocked the stadium like it hadn’t in years. But Gabriel converted the fourth down with a 15-yard pass, running back Jordan James ran for an 11-yard touchdown to tie the score and Wisconsin never threatened again. Oregon took the lead for good with 2:36 remaining in the fourth quarter on kicker Atticus Sappington’s 24-yard field goal.

Wisconsin failed to get a first down on its final four drives. One was hindered by a backbreaking chop block call that negated a first-down pass to receiver Trech Kekahuna. The next drive ended in a turnover on downs on Locke’s incomplete pass, and the game wrapped when Locke’s final throw was tipped and intercepted by outside linebacker Matayo Uiagalelei with 1:32 remaining. Wisconsin averaged just 3.6 yards per play, its worst mark under offensive coordinator Phil Longo. Players acknowledged the defense deserved better.

“I apologize to them all the time,” Badgers running back Tawee Walker said. “They have our backs every single game. We’ve got to do the same. They played their part from the first snap of the game to the last snap of the game. I feel bad because we don’t have their backs like we should, and they played their hearts out.”

Fickell has attempted to stay positive despite mounting frustrations over the lack of progress. He said he was encouraged by the fact that he didn’t see doubt in anybody’s eyes on the sideline, even as Oregon took the lead late. He said that “there’s something that’s building” within the program. But that’s about all Wisconsin has to show for where it is — faint optimism about an uncertain future. And, at some point real soon, there better be more to offer because moral victories only go so far.

“This isn’t the norm,” Chaney said. “This isn’t the standard. I’m not going to sit here and say that a lot of people can’t see that. We see it in the locker room. We see it within the coaches. I truly believe that we’re taking steps. We’re making strides where guys who went through the stuff right now are going to come back next year and things will change. Things will change.”

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(Top photo of Jordan James: John Fisher / Getty Images)