Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell talks Michigan's elite rushing attack, Bryce Underwood

It hasn't been the start Luke Fickell had hoped for when he left UC for Wisconsin. The Badgers have been a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team, and the start of the 2025 season hasn't been much better for Fickell. Wisconsin started 2-0, but then suffered losses to both Alabama and Maryland to begin 2025 with a 2-2 record.

One thing that's gone well for the Badgers is their run defense. Wisconsin currently has the No. 1-ranked run defense, allowing just 50 yards per game to the opposition. But this weekend will be the first big test for the Badgers, going up against the Michigan rushing attack. The Wolverines average 253 yards on the ground and coach Fickell talked about the challenge on Monday.

"Yeah, it’ll be a test," Fickell said. "I don’t know that we’ve had by any means a test like this in the running game this year. And so we have done a good job up front. We’ve done a good job at controlling the run and giving ourselves better opportunities, obviously, to win football games when you can stop the run. But this is definitely going to be a different challenge. I think that is definitely the strength of the offense.

"But at times when you do that, then you also got to realize and recognize that they got opportunities to make big plays in the passing game as well, whether it’s the quarterback’s feet, the quarterback’s arm. They’ve got talented players on the outside. I think maybe what they don’t get as much credit for is the balance that they have. It’s maybe overlooked sometimes when they’ve run the ball as well as they have with the backs that they’ve got. But it’s going to be a different challenge for us defensively. That’s for sure. For our ability to eliminate the big play in the run game more so than anything else."

Facing five-star Bryce Underwood

Michigan, QB Bryce Underwood — Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

While Wisconsin has the top-ranked run defense, the Badgers also have the 89th-ranked passing defense. Teams have been scoring on the Badgers, but they are doing so through the air. That's what makes Michigan challenging. Not only does the Wolverines have an elite rushing attack, but QB Bryce Underwood adds a new dynamic utilizing both his arms and his legs.

"Being a defensive guy in general, the quarterbacks that have the ability to beat you with their arms and their legs always makes it difficult," said Fickell. "Even for a younger guy that has a lot of poise. The guy that has some weapons around him, he hasn’t overdone it. That’s the thing that I would say is impressive. They haven’t run him a ton. He hasn’t just taken off and scrambled when something wasn’t there. His ability to pick and choose when he does is obviously, as you saw a week ago for them, were some huge, huge plays in the quarterback run game, whether it was a called QB draw or improvised on some things that broke down.

"That’s why I said that when we talked about the run game, you can’t just say, hey, we’re just going to pile the box and stop the run. You do those things, you pile everybody up inside, and Underwood can make you pay on the edges with his feet, as well as being able to get the ball down the field. So there’s a balance to it. That’s why he obviously was as highly touted as he is. I think they’ve done a good job with being smart with what they’ve asked him to do, but still allowing his abilities to show. So it’s another challenge that I don’t think you see every week."

Michigan and Wisconsin will take the field for a Noon ET kick on Fox.

Facing five-star Bryce Underwood

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