'Sconnie Six Pack 11/28
Wisconsin makes it official: Luke Fickell is the head coach of the Badgers
Luke Fickell announced as next head coach of Wisconsin Badgers football
Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh took a flight to Cincinnati yesterday afternoon and returned to Madison with new Wisconsin football head coach Luke Fickell. Fickell is the 31st head coach in the history of Badgers football. An introductory press conference is scheduled for 4:00PM CST today at Camp Randall Stadium.
McIntosh fooled everyone who had attempted to report or predict Wisconsin’s next football head coaching hire. It was widely reported that interim head coach and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard would be offered the position. According to reporting by the Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, McIntosh worked diligently to keep his process to hire Fickell under wraps.
"My family and I are thrilled to join the Wisconsin family," Fickell said in a statement. "This is a destination job at a program that I have admired from afar for years. I am in total alignment with Chris McIntosh's vision for this program. There is a tremendous foundation here that I can't wait to build upon. This world-class university, athletic department and passionately loyal fan base all have a strong commitment to success, and I can't wait to be a part of it."
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg spoke with McIntosh last night. McIntosh expressed his enthusiasm for Fickell, but also mentioned the difficulty that comes with the decision. McIntosh said that Fickell met with the team last night and “emotions were pretty raw” due to the team's support for Leonhard. McIntosh said that Fickell and Leonhard would speak to determine if there is a suitable role for Leonhard on Fickell’s staff at Wisconsin. “It’s between them. I don’t know if it could [happen]; it could probably only be under someone like Luke who has gone through it himself,” McIntosh said referring to Fickell being passed over for the head coach position at Ohio State after serving as its interim head coach, but remaining at Ohio State under Urban Meyer.
Packers lose to Eagles; Aaron Rodgers exits game with injury and Jordan Love leads two scoring drives
The Green Bay Packers (4-8) lost to the Philadelphia Eagles (10-1) by a score of 40-33 last night. Green Bay’s defense could not stop the Philadelphia rushing attack all night as the Eagles punted only once.
The Packers allowed a historic rushing performance by the Eagles last night. Philadelphia rushed for 363 yards - the ninth-most in a single game in NFL history. Quarterback Jalen Hurts led all rushers on the day with 157 yards on 17 carries - an all-time record for an Eagles quarterback surpassing the record of 130 yards set by Michael Vick in 2010. Running back Miles Sanders added 143 yards of his own on 21 carries. All Philadelphia rushers combined to average 7.4 yards per rush as Green Bay struggled to tackle and respond to well-schemed run plays by the Eagles.
The Packers offense put up a balanced effort to score 33 points with 106 yards rushing and 236 yards passing, but injury concerns regarding quarterback Aaron Rodgers are the main takeaway from last night. Rodgers left the game with a rib injury late in the third quarter. Following the game, Rodgers said that he did not have a punctured lung, although it was hard to breathe, and x-rays were inconclusive when trying to determine if he had broken ribs.
Backup quarterback Jordan Love entered the game in the fourth quarter to lead a touchdown drive capped-off by a 63-yard catch and run by wide receiver Christian Watson to cut the Philadelphia lead to 40-33. The Green Bay defense, however, could not give the offense a chance to win the game as Philadelphia responded with a 10 play, 43-yard field goal drive that took 6:44 off the clock. The Packers added another field goal on the ensuing drive, but could not recover a late onside kick as the Eagles iced the game.
Rodgers said last night that he wants to continue to play as long as Green Bay is not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Rodgers is now suffering from rib and thumb injuries. Green Bay has a 3% chance to make the playoffs according to FiveThirtyEight. The Packers next play at the Chicago Bears on Sunday, December 4th at 12:00PM CST.
Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Dallas Mavericks; Grayson Allen has historic shooting performance
The Milwaukee Bucks (14-5) defeated the Dallas Mavericks (9-10) inside Fiserv Forum last night by a score of 124-115. Milwaukee never trailed, but it was not until an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter that the Bucks closed the door on the Mavericks. Both teams shot the ball well resulting in an exciting, high-scoring game.
Milwaukee scored 41 points in the first quarter, tied for its most in one quarter this season, and 73 points in the first half, its most in a single half this season. Shooting guard Grayson Allen powered Milwaukee’s scoring effort with 22 first-half points including hitting on all seven of his three-point attempts. That is tied for the most three-pointers made in the NBA in a single half without a miss over the last 25 seasons according to ESPN Stats & Info. Overall, the Bucks shot 55.8% from the field and 45.9% from three-point range.
Milwaukee’s defense did just enough to win as Dallas shot 51.2% from the field and 41.5% from three-point range. Bucks center Brook Lopez continued to add to his resume for Defensive Player of the Year with four blocks. He leads the NBA with 2.9 blocks per game. Mavericks point guard Luka Doncic recorded 27 points to lead Dallas’ scoring effort.
The Bucks play next at the New York Knicks Wednesday night.
Wisconsin volleyball earns #1 seed; hosts first and second-round matches this weekend in Madison
Wisconsin volleyball is a #1 seed for the second-consecutive year as it begins its quest to win a back-to-back national championship. The Badgers’ road to the title will begin in Madison this Friday as Wisconsin hosts first and second-round matches at the UW Field House.
Wisconsin will host matches at the UW Field House starting with Washington and TCU playing at 4:30PM CST on Friday, December 2nd. Wisconsin and Quinnipiac will follow at 7:00PM. The winner of each match will play again at 6:00PM Saturday. If Wisconsin advances from the first and second-rounds, the Badgers will host the regional semifinals and final the following weekend.
Wisconsin’s bracket includes other first and second-round host teams #2 Pitt, #3 Florida, and #4 Penn State. Pitt (27-3) is the co-champion of the ACC (it shared the title with #1 seed Louisville). Florida (23-5) is the co-champion of the SEC (it shared the title with #3 seed Kentucky). Florida defeated Wisconsin in five sets (25-21, 25-18, 26-28, 13-25, 15-13) in a match back in September played inside the Kohl Center which broke the NCAA attendance record. Penn State (24-7) finished fifth in the Big Ten, but was undefeated in non-conference play including wins over #1 seed Stanford and #3 seed Oregon. Wisconsin and Penn State met twice this season with the Badgers winning both matches.
Assessing the immediate recruiting fallout from Wisconsin naming Luke Fickell as head coach
It did not take long yesterday for recruits to both Wisconsin and Cincinnati to react to the news of Luke Fickell’s hiring at Wisconsin.
Two members of Wisconsin’s 2023 recruiting class de-committed following the news of Fickell’s hiring:
Offensive lineman Christopher Terek, a three-star recruit according to the 24/7 Sports composite rankings, announced his de-commitment from Wisconsin on Twitter yesterday. In the same tweet, he announced his commitment to play at Notre Dame.
Three-star defensive lineman Trey Pierce also announced his de-commitment from Wisconsin via Twitter yesterday. Pierce recently received offers to play at Michigan and Illinois.
A few of members of Cincinnati’s 2023 recruiting class made announcements of interest to Wisconsin fans yesterday as well:
Four-star cornerback recruit Amare Snowden de-committed from Cincinnati via Twitter yesterday. He currently has an offer to play at Wisconsin and was heavily pursued by Jim Leonhard according to 24/7 Sports’ Evan Flood, but he also planned to play baseball in college (Wisconsin does not have a baseball team).
Three-star linebacker Trevor Carter has been committed to Cincinnati for over a year. According to a tweet from Carter yesterday, he is still committed to Cincinnati, but his recruitment “is 100% open.” Carter also has an offer to play at Wisconsin.
Junas Duclona is a three-star cornerback recruit who de-committed from Cincinnati via Twitter yesterday. Duclona currently has an offer to play at Wisconsin.
Wisconsin fans will next be looking to see who transfers out from Madison. Running back Braelon Allen responded to transfer rumors earlier this year by saying that if Leonhard became the head coach he would stay (he did not offer clarity on what he would do if someone else was named the head coach. Wisconsin freshman cornerback Avyonne Jones announced via his father’s Twitter account today that he will stay at Wisconsin.
Announcements will continue to come quickly in the next few days as the period to enter the transfer portal begins on December 5th. Early signing day for high school recruits is December 21st. Subscribe to the ‘Sconnie Six Pack for free to get the latest Badgers roster news delivered in a simple, easy to digest format every single day.
Topping-off the six pack: don’t be a jerk
I like to believe that readers of the ‘Sconnie Six Pack are above this behavior, but in case this reaches someone who is not, let’s get one thing straight:
Do not tweet at recruits who de-commit from Wisconsin to berate them. Do not tweet at current Wisconsin players to berate them. Why are you tweeting at 17 to 21 year-olds? That’s weird.
Telling teenage football players and college students that they “should have played better” if they wanted Paul Chryst or Jim Leonhard to be the head coach of the Wisconsin football team is not going to change anything other than making someone upset. These football players have had a year of turbulence unlike anything most of us could imagine. Losing the life of beloved running backs coach Gary Brown, losing a head coach that brought them into Madison and gave them an opportunity of a lifetime, losing the life of their friend Devin Chandler in horrific fashion, and now meeting with their third head coach in the last two months. If players decide they want a change of scenery and want to transfer somewhere else, who could blame them?
High school recruits who de-commit from Wisconsin have every right to do so. These recruits are making a huge decision to impact the direction of their young lives. They are coming to Wisconsin because they and their families have built relationships and trust with the coaching staff that is assuring these young men that they will be taken care of. If that person is not there anymore, it is entirely reasonable to decide to play somewhere else with another coaching staff that player has built trust with before.
This may be a shakeup of culture and roster composition that Wisconsin football fans have not seen before. Keep in mind, we all want Coach Fickell to succeed. That does not mean any of us should want to see Coach Leonhard or any players who leave Wisconsin fail.
On, Wisconsin.