3 Luke Fickell Quotes That Matter Following Wisconsin's Demolition of Michigan State

Wisconsin lit up the Spartans in a jubilant homecoming victory.

Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Despite authoring a remarkable comeback win on the road against Penn State in Week 4, it was absolutely imperative for the Badgers that they come out with focus and intensity in Week 5 and make short work of Michigan State.

That's exactly what they did.

After a resounding 31-3 victory over the Spartans, Wisconsin sits at a comfortable 4-1 (2-0 in Big Ten play) heading into its lone bye week this season.

Below, Badgers On SI breaks down the most important things head coach Luke Fickell said after the big homecoming victory:

On his offensive line

Wisconsin Badgers offensive tackle Kevin Heywood (55) and quarterback Colton Joseph (1). | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“We wanna continue to find a way to get our best players on the field…Last week I said (Darrion Dupree) stepped up and was a grown man for us, I’d say the same thing. I haven’t watched the film, I don’t know exactly, but Ryan (Cory) was a grown man for us today.”

This is technically two of Fickell's answers rolled into one, but hear me out. The first part was in regards to the Badgers making a big switch to their starting five in the offensive trenches. Kevin Heywood flipped from right tackle to left tackle, while the Badgers rotated Emerson Mandell and PJ Wilkins at right tackle. That meant Stylz Blackmon was the full-time starter at right guard.

Wilkins' struggles have been well-documented this season, and he effectively lost his starting role Saturday. This is a good move from the coaching staff, as the blindside tackle spot is of the utmost importance and Heywood appeared much better equipped to handle it.

The second part of this quote praises Cory, and indeed, the center played admirably in place of Austin Kawecki, who left the game before the end of the first half with an upper body injury. Cory was a disaster at center last season, but he appeared to hold his own for the most part outside of a rough rep here and there. His apparent growth is an enormous development for the Badgers, especially if Kawecki is forced to miss an extended period of time.

On his team's focus

“You know what’s great about a big win? You can coach and push a little harder…I kinda got after them early this morning in a special teams meeting just on focus and attention to detail at 7:55 in the morning that I don’t know that I would normally do, but I think that everybody is obviously seeing and feeling the growth," Fickell said, before adding, in regards to a potential lack of focus coming off the big win: "I didn’t sense it, I was on high alert for it.”

Momentum is a very real, almost tangible quality about a football team, and the Badgers now have it in spades. After the huge win at Penn State, there were questions about if Wisconsin could come out the next week and play like it just upset a top-15 team on the road. It absolutely did.

This was expected to be something of a close game. That was essentially never the case. The Badgers had a stranglehold on the Spartans all afternoon; never once did Michigan State feel like it was a legitimate threat.

That's absolutely huge for this team, and it says a lot about the culture and buy-in within this program right now.

On the state of the program

Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Colton Joseph (1) celebrates with tight end Emmett Bork (82). | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“It does feel good. The truth of the matter is, last week felt really good. And last week’s practice felt different. And I don’t sometimes like that feeling, because you can feel your own self take too many deep breaths, but there’s a positive energy that has built and continued to build. And it is from winning, obviously it’s hard to overcome if you don’t, but I think it has more to do with the leadership and a group of guys that understands we know what we have to do and we know who we are.”

It's safe to say the vibes around Wisconsin football are as high as they've been since well before Fickell assumed control of the program.

The vibes 📈 pic.twitter.com/H13KI5kbsr

— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) October 3, 2026

This team is clearly connected. It's clearly bought in. It clearly believes. Fickell's comments reflect that. The leadership and togetherness that he's been harping on all offseason appears to be finally coming to fruition.