A trio of “Massive Midday Saturday” video games for the 2024 faculty soccer season have been introduced final week, one among them being Luke Fickell’s Wisconsin Badgers internet hosting the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sept. 14. This would be the third all-time matchup between these two applications.
Fickell is coming into his second season at Wisconsin with this system coming off an underwhelming 7-6 debut season that noticed it win only one recreation towards a crew that completed with a profitable file.
With that in thoughts, is that this Massive Ten-SEC battle Fickell’s likelihood to get his first assertion win at Wisconsin?
On the newest version of “The No. 1 School Soccer Present with RJ Younger,” host RJ Younger gave his perspective on what a win over the Crimson Tide would imply for the Badgers, however extra particularly, for Fickell.
“That is Wisconsin’s greatest shot within the Luke Fickell period to throw down a marker to completely say ‘we’re within the Massive Ten, and we anticipate to contend within the Massive Ten for championships,” Younger mentioned. “[A] smart way to try this is to beat the SEC champ and a crew that performed within the School Soccer Playoff … they [Wisconsin] received to get the Crimson Tide as a result of they received SC, Penn State, Iowa [and] Oregon on the schedule …
“Luke Fickell’s received so much driving on this recreation as a result of now’s the time the place Wisconsin followers want to see some payoff right here. And, in a 12-team playoff, there isn’t any purpose why Wisconsin, or for that matter, Penn State, should not be thought of as groups that may make it into this 12-team format.”
Fickell was beforehand the pinnacle coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats, who went a mixed 57-18 underneath him from 2017-22, headlined by an look within the 2021 School Soccer Playoff — the primary berth for a non-Energy 5 program — and three eleven-plus win seasons. The Bearcats truly confronted off towards the Crimson Tide within the 2021 School Soccer Playoff semifinal spherical, though they misplaced 27-6.
Previous to his time in Cincinnati, Fickell was Ohio State’s interim head coach for the 2011 season, which noticed this system go 6-7. Fickell was on Ohio State’s teaching employees in some capability from 2002-16 and was a defensive lineman for the varsity from 1993-96.
As for Wisconsin’s opponent, Alabama cracked the School Soccer Playoff final season earlier than dropping to Michigan within the semifinal spherical. After the season, six-time Nationwide Champion head coach Nick Saban retired, with Alabama hiring former Washington Huskies head coach Kalen DeBoer to exchange the legendary head coach. The Crimson Tide return quarterback Jalen Milroe.
The Badgers have been in the midst of the pack on each ends of the ball final season. Offensively, they averaged 381.2 whole yards (sixth within the Massive Ten) and 23.5 factors (seventh) per recreation. Defensively, they surrendered 331.4 whole yards (seventh) and 18.9 factors (sixth) per recreation.
RJ Younger reacts to the Massive Midday Kickoff recreation announcement schedule
Wisconsin hasn’t completed with double-digit wins since 2019, which is the final time it made the Massive Ten Championship Sport underneath the earlier East vs. West format. The Badgers have put collectively back-to-back 7-6 campaigns.
Regarding subsequent season, former Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke tasks to be Wisconsin’s beginning quarterback after serving because the Hurricanes’ signal-caller for the higher a part of the previous three seasons, highlighted by throwing for two,931 yards and 25 touchdowns throughout simply 10 video games in his 2021 freshman marketing campaign.
Van Dyke’s No. 1 possibility within the passing recreation is large receiver Will Pauling, who totaled 74 receptions for 837 yards and 6 touchdowns final season, all crew highs, and adopted Fickell from Cincinnati to Wisconsin. Oklahoma switch Tawee Walker — who rushed for 513 yards and 7 touchdowns on 5.0 yards per carry — may very well be Wisconsin’s lead working again.
In the meantime, Wisconsin’s protection is headlined by defensive backs Ricardo Hallman — who was tied for many interceptions in faculty soccer in 2023 with seven — and Hunter Wohler — who led Massive Ten defensive backs with 117 mixed tackles in 2023.
Exterior of Alabama, Wisconsin’s out-of-conference opponents are Western Michigan and South Dakota.
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