Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1524108
9 0 A U G U S T 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M It took only two seasons for Luke Fick- ell to turn Cincinnati into a force at the Group of Five level. Inheriting a team that had stumbled to a 4-8 record in Tommy Tuberville's final season as head coach, Fickell, a former star player and assistant coach at Ohio State, wasn't able to engineer an imme- diate turnaround, guiding the Bearcats to just four wins in 2017. The next season, however, Cincinnati surged to an 11-2 finish that included a Military Bowl victory over Virginia Tech. It was the start of a brilliant run that featured a College Football Playoff ap- pearance in 2020 and continued up until Fickell headed to Wisconsin in Novem- ber 2022 after finally getting a Power Five head coaching offer he couldn't refuse. Now he's getting ready for Year 2 in Madison, and the Badgers would love nothing more than to make a similar as- cent after an uneven but promising 7-6 finish in Fickell's first full season as head coach. To do so, they will need to keep play- ing the kind of defense they played last year. The Badgers return only five start- ers on that side of the ball, but included in that group are several key playmakers. Redshirt junior cornerback Ricardo Hall- man was a third-team Associated Press All-American after tying for the FBS lead with 7 interceptions. Also returning in the secondary is senior safety Hunter Wohler, who led the team last year with 120 stops and added 2 interceptions of his own. In the front seven, the Badgers have welcomed back linebackers Jake Chaney and Darryl Peterson, along with defensive lineman James Thompson Jr. Peterson, a 6-foot-1, 247-pound redshirt junior, led the team in sacks last season with 4.5. To help fill out its linebacker depth chart, Wisconsin worked the transfer portal and landed redshirt senior Jaheim Thomas from Arkansas and sophomore Tackett Curtis from USC. Thomas was a 12-game starter for the Razorbacks last season and finished sixth in the SEC with 90 tackles. The Badgers ranked 20th in the FBS in scoring defense last season, allowing 23.5 points per game. They'll be hoping the combination of returning talent and portal help will allow them to equal or surpass that performance. On offense, the Badgers will definitely be seeking improvement. They brought in senior quarterback Tyler Van Dyke from Miami (Fla.) in the hope that he can build on a solid finish to the 2023 season. Van Dyke threw for 327 yards against Lou- isville and 290 against Boston College, with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions in what would turn out to be his final games with the Hurricanes. After rank- ing 69th in the FBS in passing offense last year (220.2 yards per game), the Badgers need to improve. The receiver corps features juniors Will Pauling and Bryson Green, who combined to total 106 catches for 1,317 yards and 8 touchdowns last season. In the backfield, Chez Mellusi was granted a sixth year of eligibility after playing in only four games last year due to a broken leg. Oklahoma transfer Tawee Walker will also be a factor, and both running backs will benefit from the re- turn of four starting offensive linemen. Is that enough to provide the Year 2 bounce that everyone in Madison wants to see? We won't have to wait long to find out. On Sept. 14, Wisconsin wel- comes Alabama to Camp Randall Sta- dium. — Matt Herb O C T . 2 6 | T I M E T B A | T V T B A | C A M P R A N D A L L S T A D I U M | M A D I S O N , W I S . Luke Fickell guided Wisconsin to a 7-6 record in his first full season at the school. PHOTO COURTESY WISCONSIN ATHLETICS GAME 7 WISCONSIN QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Penn State leads 11-9 Last Meeting: Penn State intercepted Bad- gers quarterback Graham Mertz twice in the fourth quarter en route to a 16-10 victory in Madison on Sept. 4, 2021 Head Coach: Luke Fickell (8-6 in one full season and one partial season at Wisconsin; career coaching record: 71-31) 2023 Record: 7-6, 5-4 Big Ten Returning Starters: 15 (8 offense, 5 defense, 2 specialists) RETURNING LEADERS Rushing: RB Jackson Acker (322 yards, 2 TD) Passing: QB Braedyn Locke (1,883 yards, 13 TD) Receiving: WR Will Pauling (837 yards, 6 TD) Tackles: S Hunter Wohler (120) Sacks: LB Darryl Peterson (4.5) Interceptions: CB Ricardo Hallman (7) 2024 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2023 Result Aug. 31 Western Michigan — Sept. 7 South Dakota — Sept. 14 Alabama — Sept. 28 at USC — Oct. 5 Purdue W, 38-17 Oct. 12 at Rutgers W, 24-13 Oct. 19 at Northwestern L, 24-10 Oct. 26 Penn State — Nov. 2 at Iowa L, 15-6 Nov. 16 Oregon — Nov. 23 at Nebraska W, 24-17 Nov. 30 Minnesota W, 28-14 BEST-CASE SCENARIO Three of the Badgers' toughest opponents — Alabama, Penn State and Oregon — will be trekking to Camp Randall Stadium. That makes 2024 a good year to be a Wisconsin season-ticket holder, and it'll be an even better year if transfer quarterback Tyler Van Dyke can get the offense clicking WORST-CASE SCENARIO Consecutive games against Alabama and USC in September could derail Wisconsin's season early, making it tough to bounce back in the second half of the campaign when the Badgers face Penn State, Iowa and Oregon.