It’s one thing to hit a rough patch. It’s another to take a swan dive into the college football basement and still get rewarded like you won the Big Ten. Welcome to the bizarre world of Luke Fickell and Wisconsin football, where losing big gets you locked in longer. After a faceplant of a 2024 season that saw the Badgers miss a bowl game for the 1st time in over 2 decades, Fickell somehow got handed a contract extension through 2032 this offseason. 13-13 record, five straight losses, and still cashing checks. But that wasn’t even the punchline.

The real gut punch? A national humiliation by Minnesota to end the year, a 24-7 disaster that snapped the Badgers’ 22-year bowl streak and left fans in disbelief. You could almost hear Camp Randall Stadium groan in unison. Now, with 2025 barreling down like a freight train full of playoff contenders, the vibe in Madison has gone from cautious optimism to outright dread.

Enter David Pollack, former Georgia linebacker and NFL vet, who didn’t mince words when breaking down Wisconsin’s upcoming schedule on his podcast. In a segment about the toughest schedule in college football, Pollack didn’t even wait for the punchline: “Oh my God, this is easy. This—this is murderers’ road! This is the worst schedule in all of college football. I’m not going to tell you the team, and you can just listen to this schedule and go: ‘Oooh, I’m not winning very many games.’”

Obviously, he was talking about Wisconsin. And what followed wasn’t a breakdown—it was a burial. “At Bama. Host Maryland—not too bad. At Michigan. Iowa. Ohio State. At Oregon. Washington. At Indiana. Illinois. At Minnesota, when it’s three degrees outside… Like, that is absolutely ridiculous. You got two guaranteed wins. You got a couple [of] toss-ups with Maryland, with Washington, with Minnesota. But they’re—you know, it’s only—one at least is at Minnesota. But you’re talking about at Oregon, at Bama, at Michigan, playing Ohio State—golly, bro. I do not want to be Wisconsin.” Pollack’s breakdown of the Badgers’ 2025 gauntlet isn’t just dramatic for effect—it’s backed by hard numbers.

According to ESPN’s Strength of Schedule (SOS) model, Wisconsin’s slate ranks as the most brutal in the Big Ten and 4th in the nation. 247Sports? No. 5. Think playoff regulars like Michigan and Ohio State. Add in Alabama and Oregon.

Issue with Luke Fickell era; Fickell’s résumé at Cincinnati might have earned him credibility—a College Football Playoff berth and all—he’s looking more like a busted bet in Madison. He’s 13–13 in two seasons with a program that once lived in the 10-win neighborhood. A place where fullbacks and linebackers were raised like corn. And now? That physical identity is MIA. What fans got last year looked more like a team searching for its lost playbook.

Pollack took the gloves off entirely when he said, “Ain’t no way. Like, if that’s the case—if it’s five and a half—I don’t gamble, but I’m gladly taking the under… Like, I will dive in that pool in a heartbeat and stay underwater. Like, that ain’t happening.” He was referring to the Vegas win total line of 5.5 for Wisconsin. That’s how grim things have gotten. And when an NFL vet like Pollack is that blunt about your team’s prospects, it isn’t just noise—it’s a red flag the size of Camp Randall.

What’s worse is that the 2024 season was supposed to be the transition. Wisconsin was moving on from the Paul Chryst era, tweaking their offensive philosophy, leaning into transfer QB Tyler Van Dyke—and then everything fell apart. By November, they weren’t just losing, they were getting cooked.

And yet, despite all that chaos, Luke Fickell inked a one-year extension this February. So unless things go nuclear in 2025—and judging by that schedule, that’s a real possibility—Wisconsin’s sticking with him. The logic? Maybe continuity. Maybe recruiting stability. But if the Badgers can’t even sniff bowl eligibility this fall, the backlash could be monstrous and real soon.

Wisconsin vs. Miami lawsuit: Why Wisconsin football is suing the program but not the player

As if a crumbling roster and nightmare schedule weren’t enough, Wisconsin just fired another shot—this one legal. The Badgers, through their NIL collective VC Connect, have filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin state court against the University of Miami. The charge? Tampering. Specifically, they’re accusing Miami of luring defensive back Xavier Lucas away with backchannel NIL offers while he was still under contract with Wisconsin.

You read that right. The Badgers are suing another school. Not the player. Not the agent. The school. And while that might sound like a PR move wrapped in legal jargon, there’s real fire behind the smoke. Wisconsin claims Miami reps met with Lucas and his family before he even entered the transfer portal—a direct violation of NCAA tampering rules. That kind of behind-the-scenes dealmaking isn’t just frowned upon; it could trigger massive consequences if proven true.

Legal expert Dan Lust broke it down on the Cover 3 Podcast: “It’s tortious interference with a contract. There’s a contract between Party A and Party B—Wisconsin and Xavier Lucas. Party C, Miami, comes in and causes that contract to be terminated. That’s the legal premise.” Lust went on to clarify that Wisconsin could sue Lucas for breach of contract, but they won’t—not because they don’t have a case, but because they don’t want to torch their recruiting future.

“Wisconsin doesn’t want to set a precedent by being the first school to sue a player for breach of contract,” Lust explained. It makes sense. Suing a player might send recruits running. Instead, Wisconsin is making a statement—a loud one. You tamper with our roster, we’ll make you pay. Literally.

The lawsuit also has the backing of the Big Ten, which blasted Miami’s conduct as “irreconcilable with a sustainable college sports framework.” Translation? You all better stop treating this like free agency with no rules.

So why does this matter beyond Wisconsin? Because this case could be the tip of the legal spear. In the NIL era, the lines are blurrier than ever. If Wisconsin wins, it could set the precedent for how tampering is punished, not just with NCAA wrist slaps, but actual financial consequences. That’s a whole new level of deterrent.

Bottom line? Wisconsin’s throwing legal haymakers not just to win this one fight, but to change the way the game is played. It might be the only ‘W’ Wisconsin gets this season.