Luke Fickell's Iowa Problem Is Now Bigger Than Ever at Wisconsin

Luke Fickell entered Saturday still looking for his first win over Iowa at Wisconsin. Another shutout made that problem even harder to ignore

Oct 31, 2026; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell reacts with a referee during the third quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Wisconsin beating USC last week had me feeling pretty good about where Luke Fickell had this team headed. I even wrote before the Iowa game that there was really only one thing left that I wanted to see from him. I wanted to see Wisconsin beat Iowa.

That obviously didn't happen Saturday. The Badgers went to Iowa City and lost 30-0, and I probably feel worse about this matchup now than I did before the game. Fickell has been at Wisconsin for four years. He still hasn't beaten Iowa.

I Didn't Realize the Numbers Were This Bad

Iowa Hawkeyes linebacker Cam Buffington (33) tackles Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Colton Joseph (1) Oct. 31, 2026 during a Big Ten football game at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

I knew Fickell was 0-3 against Iowa going into Saturday. What I hadn't really paid attention to was how little Wisconsin had scored in those games. The Badgers lost 15-6 in 2023 and 42-10 the next year. Then came the 37-0 loss last season.

Add Saturday's 30-0 to it and Iowa has outscored Wisconsin 124-16 since Fickell took over. I had to go back and add that up because 16 points in four games didn't sound right. It was. Wisconsin hasn't scored against Iowa since 2024. That's two straight games now without a point, and both of them were blowouts.

Saturday Surprised Me for a Different Reason

Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Hank Brown (9) looks to pass the ball Oct. 31, 2026 during a Big Ten football game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

I figured Iowa would try to run the ball and make Wisconsin stop it. Instead, I spent most of the first half watching Hank Brown complete just about everything he threw. Brown finished 20-of-24 for 222 yards and two touchdowns. I didn't have that on my list of things Wisconsin needed to worry about before the game.

The Badgers did have one chance in the first half where I thought things might turn. Colton Joseph hit Jaylon Domingeaux for 41 yards and Wisconsin eventually got down to the Iowa 3. Abu Sama III was stopped on fourth down. That was as close as Wisconsin got to scoring all day.

Now I Don't Know What to Make of the USC Game

This is probably where Saturday changed things the most for me. I came away from the USC win thinking Wisconsin might finally be headed somewhere. I still think that was a good win. I'm not taking it away from them just because of what happened at Iowa.

I just expected more a week later. Wisconsin went from beating USC to getting shut out by Iowa, and that's a pretty big swing in seven days. It also leaves Fickell in the same place with this rivalry that he was before the USC game. He hasn't figured Iowa out yet.

After four tries, I'm not sure when he will.