Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell didn’t mince words after his team’s 42-10 defeat to Alabama, telling reporters the same thing he told his players in the locker room.
“If you haven’t had your ass whooped before, you just did,” Fickell said in his postgame press conference. “It was a good, old-fashioned ass-whooping at home, and that stings.”
The Badgers lost starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to a knee injury in the first quarter after a promising start, completing all five of his passes for 16 yards. He was replaced by Mississippi State transfer Braedyn Locke, but it was Alabama’s Jalen Milroe who caused the most damage. Milroe threw for 196 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 75 yards and two more scores.
“They’re running him a little more than I expected, and that’s a great equalizer,” Fickell said of Milroe. “He throws a great deep ball, and they’ve got guys who can go up and get it. We have to make them work harder for those plays.”
Fickell praised Alabama’s offensive line, which started Kadyn Proctor and Elijah Pritchett at tackle for the first time. “That offensive line is very physical and can get after you,” Fickell said. “We need to play sound football to handle their talent, size, and speed.”
He also highlighted the challenge of containing Milroe, saying that while Wisconsin did some things well defensively, they failed to capitalize on opportunities to force turnovers or prevent big plays, especially in the second half. “We fell out of character, and that’s disheartening,” Fickell noted.
Calling Alabama’s defensive line “as big and good-looking” as any his team will face all season, Fickell acknowledged the difficulty of beating a top-five team like Alabama. “You have to earn it against a team like that, and we didn’t earn it today,” he said.
Looking ahead to next year’s rematch in Tuscaloosa, Fickell remained optimistic: “An ass-whooping is an ass-whooping, but if you can get back up and move forward, you can grow from it.”
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