Wisconsin Badgers strong showings after bye weeks under Luke Fickell provide hope for 2025

The Wisconsin Badgers won't take the field in Week 5, getting an extended breather on a bye week. They'll look to regroup from an ugly 27-10 loss to Maryland at Camp Randall and perhaps get some key players back from injury.

Bearing a 2-2 record, the Badgers will face a Michigan Wolverines team at the Big House that will be coming off of a bye of their own.

An extra week of preparation provides the Badgers with an opportunity for significant growth and offers the coaching staff ample time to gameplan. The question then becomes whether Wisconsin will be able to capitalize.

Badgers have performed well after bye weeks

Since Barry Alvarez took the reins of the program in 1990, Wisconsin has played 38 games coming out of a bye week. Across the eras of Alvarez, Bret Bielema, Gary Andersen, Paul Chryst and Luke Fickell, the Badgers have gone 25-12-1 (.658) in those games.

At first glance, that seems impressive. However, it closely follows the program's overall winning percentage (.661).

Fickell is 1-2 in those games, with the losses coming in 2024 to USC and Oregon. The back-to-back losses stopped an impressive 16-4 stretch of post-bye performances that spanned from 2009 to 2023.

And while Fickell's record coming out of bye weeks isn't great, it becomes significantly more impressive when you look at the performances beyond just the final score.

In 2023, the Badgers upended a quality Rutgers team 24-13 after leaping out to a 17-0 first-half lead.

Both 2024 losses came against ranked opponents. Wisconsin fell to No. 13 USC 38-21 in Los Angeles. With Braedyn Locke under center, Wisconsin started fast and claimed a 21-10 lead at halftime. The Badgers fell apart from there and were outscored 28-0 in the final two quarters.

The second came in a 16-13 loss to No. 1 Oregon in Camp Randall. Once again, Wisconsin led at halftime, snaring a 10-6 lead despite Locke's struggles at quarterback.

Wisconsin has a bye next week.

And then THIS (⬇️) is the Badgers’ month of October.

Tough times ahead in Madison. pic.twitter.com/qa3dWYNjkM
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) September 20, 2025

Facing Michigan on the road will offer a similar challenge to that of 2024, but considering the current state of the program, fans would welcome an outcome similar to USC or Oregon.

What's most encouraging about Fickell's post-bye performances is the fact Wisconsin has played complementary football and got off to strong starts — both of which are issues that have plagued the 2025 squad.

If Wisconsin can do both in Ann Arbor, it'll go a long way toward earning the support of fans and signal a potential righting of the ship at a critical time in the season.

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