Michigan State Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald Gushes Over Badgers 'Lights Out' Defense, More

The weight of failure is something Wisconsin football has had to endure for the better part of the past three seasons. All of the sudden, after a stunning three-score comeback victory against No. 13 Penn State on the road, the Badgers must bear the weight of success.

How Wisconsin handles triumph Saturday morning against Michigan State after seasons of battling through adversity will be telling. But that success it put on tape against Penn State has Spartans' new head coach Pat Fitzgerald on notice about this Badgers team.

Fitzgerald and Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell are long-time stalwarts of the Big Ten conference as both players and coaches. Listening to both skippers speak, you can tell the respect is mutual. Below, Badgers On SI breaks down what Fitzgerald had to say about Fickell and his suddenly feisty Badgers team:

On Luke Fickell

Again, Fitzgerald and Fickell go way back. At his weekly presser, Fickell said he doesn't know the Spartans' head coach all that well, but that it would be strange to see him in different colors than the purple and white he donned for 16 years at Northwestern.

“I’ve known Luke for a long time. We were players together in the Big Ten. Coach Fickell does an outstanding job. I think it just shows when you continue to build the program, continue to work the plan, like he has. I was out for a little while, and I got to watch games as a fan. It’s been…it hasn’t been a yellow brick road, and he’s stayed the course, he’s stayed convicted," Fitzgerald said.

"I mean, you can tell this is a Luke Fickell team. They’re physical, they’re tough, the way they responded Saturday in one of the toughest places to play in this league at night especially.”

The line about this being, without a shadow of a doubt, a "Luke Fickell team," is telling. Truthfully, you couldn't always say that about the Badgers in past seasons. But after having watched the tape from the win at Penn State, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, Fitzgerald isn't just blowing smoke. Everything Fickell preaches from toughness to competitiveness to emotional maturity was on full display.

On Wisconsin's huge win at Penn State

Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Colton Joseph. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Spartans and the Badgers are coming off two very different results in Week 4. Michigan State got manhandled by Nebraska at home, while Wisconsin topppled Penn State on the road.

“Another huge challenge this week up in Madison. Huge win for them on the road, really impressive to watch that tape, being down early, being down 10 with under four minutes left. Really impressed how they were able to stick together and find a way to win in a really hostile environment, that was really impressive to see. And they’ve gotten better each week, after a tough challenging game in the opener against Notre Dame. Gonna have our hands full," Fitzgerald said.

Again, Wisconsin is now into uncharted territory: dealing with success as opposed to adversity. But the Badgers proved something in Happy Valley, and tight end Jacob Harris put it best after the game: "We're not just gonna roll over."

On Colton Joseph, Badgers' offense

When breaking down the Badgers' offense, resilience was once again the recurring theme for Fitzgerald. Obviously, the offense looked ugly for large swaths of the game. But none of that mattered on the game's final two drives.

“Coach Grimes does a really good job with their offense. Colton, just to see his resilience last week was so impressive. There were some things that didn’t go their way early in that game, and then to put together the drives and the plays that he made down the stretch, you know, it’s really really impressive. He’s the Sun Belt offensive player of the year, like we faced last week (Nebraska QB Anthony Colandrea). When you play a player of the year, he’s earned it. I think he’s got 24 career starts. A lot of it goes through him. They’re big up front, they play multiple tight ends. They can get down the field; huge catch at the end of the game to win it.”

On Mike Tressel's defense

Wisconsin Badgers defensive lineman Junior Poyser (97) and offensive linebacker Justus Boone (0). | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Badgers' defensive tape from the Penn State game was some of the best defensive film I've watched in the Luke Fickell era, if not the best. Wisconsin completely set the tone. Penn State had absolutely nothing going.

“And then Tress does an outstanding job with their defense. I mean, their defense played lights out. Lights out on Saturday," he said with conviction.

"And they played really well the previous two games, but that type of test on the road, the way the defense played was really really impressive. The turnovers, they created the havoc…that’s why you come to the Big Ten. Eye black on, ankles taped, it’s awesome."

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