Unless you live in Big Ten country or are perennially interested in who possesses Paul Bunyan's Axe, then Friday's game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Minnesota Golden Gophers likely didn't pop up on your radar. But the result, a 24-7 Gophers victory, is noteworthy for all college football fans because it snaps one of the most impressive postseason streaks in recent NCAA history.
For 22 consecutive seasons, the Wisconsin Badgers found themselves bowl-eligible at season's end. It's a streak that started in 2002 under long-time coach Barry Alvarez, continued through a successful seven-year run under Bret Bielema, extended through the tenures of Gary Anderson and Paul Chryst, and then sustained in Luke Fickell's first season in Madison. However, Fickell's second season didn't yield similar results, and for the first time since 2001, the Badgers won't be going bowling.
Now, not all of this should fall on the shoulders of Luke Fickell. Wisconsin's opening-week starter at quarterback, Miami transfer Tyler Van Dyke, was lost for the year with a knee injury in the Badgers' third game of the season. Inconsistent play from Van Dyke's back-up, junior Braedyn Locke, was a big reason why the Badgers are 96th in scoring this season and why Fickell decided to move on from offensive coordinator Phil Longo in the middle of the season.
What didn't help matters is that Fickell's squad played a difficult schedule during the 2024 season. Not only did Wisconsin face Alabama in non-conference action, but the Badgers also played Oregon, Penn State, and USC back when the Trojans were the 13th-ranked team in the country. Tricky road matchups against Iowa and Nebraska in November proved to be too much to handle as well.
Wisconsin joins UCLA, Northwestern, Maryland, and Purdue as the only programs in the newly expanded Big Ten not to reach bowl eligibility this season. With a loss to Rutgers on Saturday afternoon, Michigan State could join this group.
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