The 2025 season is yet to lift the curtains, but the air around is already hot. Thanks to the analysts and their ‘College Football Head Coach Hot Seat Tiers’ list. On February 5, College Football Report came up with this list. It came with categories like ‘Scorching Hot Seat’, ‘Hot Seat’, ‘Warm Seat’, ‘Room Temperature Seat’, ‘Cold Seat’, and ‘Icemen’. And guess where Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell found himself? In the dreadful first category.

Now, why wouldn’t he? The Badgers fans, by now forgotten how victory actually tastes like. They are now 13-13 overall in his tenure, and fans have been calling for his job. Last season, Fickell’s boys wrapped it off miserably with a 5-7 record. Journalist John Buhler, in one of his interviews, sounded an alarm for the Wisconsin head coach. “I am very concerned about Luke Fickell’s staying power at Wisconsin… Over the last two years, Fickell has devolved into a painfully mediocre Power Four head coach.” Yet, he did not let go of his years-old tradition.

 

Osen replied, “So this was a guy, Bud, that they had been high on. He’s a legitimate target, they were excited about. It wasn’t just a backup plan or something like that. And with Billy, I think it’s a few things. I think it’s his leadership which he’s come in and really kind of opened some eyes throughout the team. Very vocal person and leader in that terms. He’s experienced. Obviously you need that,  with most teams in the Big 10, which is among the best conferences right now. And I think a little bit of his mobility.” The senior excelled at Maryland in 2024, putting up impressive numbers despite a Big Ten-worst offensive line and supporting cast. In his three seasons in Maryland, Fickell’s starter had racked up 3,322 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 311 of 496 passes.

“Now, Edwards hasn’t been perfect in the spring. But I do believe he can make all the throws. Solid arm strength, accurate with time, and I think a pretty good decision maker. But overall, just kind of all that coming together, able to galvanize this group a little bit… It’s a big year for this group,” shared Osen. While the quarterback situation seems to look good, something is beyond Fickell’s control. 

The toughest test awaits Luke Fickell

Countless rating metrics and preseason previews portray the difficulty of Wisconsin’s 2025 football schedule. SP+ is the industry leader for judging team quality and projecting future performance. And what’s that? It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. The SP+ rating ranks them 37th, 10th among Big Ten teams. To measure the difficulty of each opponent, Wisconsin’s slate landed as by far the toughest. That’s a stern projection for Fickell. 

Osen projected, “I think Wisconsin’s sitting around five and a half. So I would certainly project that over, and I believe that this group is capable of getting at least one marquee win. Whether that is against Michigan or on the road at Alabama, I’m not picking all these. But I think that they’re capable of getting one. Putting one of those together with the increased depth and athleticism, I think if you can pencil around that sevenish wins, decent bull things open up in 2026, and then you’re really looking at some momentum.” Not only will Fickell’s boys travel to Tuscaloosa to face the Alabama Crimson Tide in a non-conference game, but Wisconsin also plays Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, and Illinois in 2025.

Now this schedule is definitely harder than the schedules they used to play and and and go and win 10, 11, 12 games. Right now, Luke Fickell needs to cool down his seat, no matter what the universe is going to throw at him. Back in 2022, he had signed a seven-year contract. Last year in January, he signed a one-year extension which means his contract runs through March 31, 2031. Time to get our calculators out. The Wisconsin HC has a contract buyout of $40,186,667, the 13th-highest in Division I. Fickell is entering the prove-it phase—2025 leaves no room for excuses.