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Luke Fickell feels the pressure on Wisconsin Badgers entering pivotal 2025 season

In a new interview, Badgers coach Luke Fickell said he's felt the pressure of the job since he took over at Wisconsin, and he's embracing the challenge with so much at stake in 2025.
Lorin Cox|
Nov 16, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell looks on during the first quarter against the Oregon Ducks at Camp Randall Stadium.
Nov 16, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell looks on during the first quarter against the Oregon Ducks at Camp Randall Stadium. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

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Luke Fickell isn't backing down from the pressure facing his Wisconsin Badgers as they enter the 2025 season.

He's used to it.

He was under pressure from the moment he took the job in Madison, and it never really went away since.

In a new interview with CBS Sports, Fickell said he lives it every day.

"I felt it in Year 1, I felt it in Year 2, believe me, I don't sleep well when we don't play well," Fickell said. "So there's no more pressure than that on myself, whether it's what fans expect, what the program expects."

The pressure is part of why he made a change at offensive coordinator and leaned heavily in the transfer portal to rebuild his defensive line and quarterback rooms.

He told CBS Sports he's surprised he doesn't feel more of the pressure from the fan base that remains supportive in Madison.

"When someone is nice I wonder why they are, because I'm more pissed at myself," Fickell said. "Maybe even some of them are, but I understand what the expectations are like, and we live it every single day."

He's confident that offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes and transfer quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. will be the right fit to get the Badgers back on track and in bowl game contention, even with a difficult schedule on paper.

This is what Fickell signed up for when he became the head coach at Wisconsin, and he's embracing it head on.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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