Ryan Day and Ohio State are on track to play a part in a former Buckeyes coach being fired at another Big Ten program

The Buckeyes could be one of the final straws for this coach.

Brandon Little — Ohio State Buckeyes & Cleveland Browns News Writer
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The Ohio State Buckeyes are sitting nicely at 6-0 and remain the No. 1 team in the country. Ohio State won the first of two straight road games this past weekend, defeating No. 17 Illinois. The Buckeyes will again be on the road in Week 8 of the college football season, this time against the Wisconsin Badgers.

Wisconsin is 2-4 on the season, with its only two wins coming against Miami (OH) and Middle Tennessee. The Badgers went 5-7 last year and appear on track to be worse this season. With former Ohio State assistant and interim head coach Luke Fickell now leading Wisconsin, there’s plenty of familiarity in this matchup.

Luke Fickell is on the hot seat — and the Ohio State game could be one of his last

Wisconsin is coming off an embarrassing 37-0 shutout loss to Iowa at home, and the program is thought to be close to moving on from Fickell. It would cost Wisconsin about $25 million to buy out his contract, but as we saw with Penn State’s firing of James Franklin, these universities have shown they’re willing to spend big to make a change.

“That’s as low as it can be,” Fickell said following the loss to Iowa. “I apologize. I apologize to our guys — to not be ready, to not have them ready. I’m dumbfounded in a lot of ways. But that’s my job. And this is a game we’ve been talking about since January, and I’ve been doing a lot to make sure we were ready and prepared. We were not. It is a challenge right now. This is no place I’ve ever been. I don’t know where else there is to go.”

That quote alone sounds like a coach nearing the end. Fickell went 6-7 as the interim head coach at Ohio State back in 2011 before the Buckeyes hired Urban Meyer. After a very successful six-year stint at Cincinnati, he took over at Wisconsin — but the program has only regressed since. The Badgers went 7-6 in 2023 and 5-7 last season.

Wisconsin still boasts a respectable defense, allowing just 317 yards per game, but the real issues lie on offense. Ohio State’s smothering defense is giving up only 6.8 points per game, which doesn’t bode well for a Wisconsin offense that ranks No. 129 nationally with just 292.5 total yards per game. Ohio State is favored by 24.5 points heading into this one, and things could get ugly at Camp Randall Stadium.

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