Luke Fickell Post-Game Media Conference || Wisconsin Football vs Western Michigan || Aug. 30, 2024

well since it's so late we'll uh we'll keep this a little brief and quick but um it was a challenge and and I think more than anything that you know you got to find ways to win and uh that was what we did tonight we we've harped upon the fourth quarter and um you know it came down to that you know I got to give them a lot of credit right I mean they they came in here with a plan and did a pretty darn good job of sticking to the plan you know I don't know that we did enough to adapt and adjust their plan um as the the game got really methodical and it was very unique at halftime as you're kind of sitting there in a 10 to S game and kind of curious as to you know how we're going to create some energy and momentum um because they had done a really good job at slowing that thing down and keeping the ball in front of them on their defense and methodically moving the ball with their offense uh and I've been in these games before and and sometimes they're not the most fun but what it comes down to is you got to find a way and you got to make some adjustments that maybe you didn't Envision you'd have to make uh you didn't want to make in game one but you have to make those guy make some of those adjustments and we did and uh I give our guys a lot of credit you know they didn't bat an ey the leadership on this team is much different and and that's what I'm really excited and proud of um but it was a test it was definitely a test and you know that ball that ball game came down to the fourth quarter and you know you got to find a way to create some energy momentum and it's not because the ball hit off their leg but that's you know one thing that does happen in the ball game uh and that was the way that we created that energy and momentum and he kind of felt it really shift and roll from there questions Luke obviously that you talked a lot about in this offseason the depth of the defensive line how did you feel like they handled what western Michigan was doing with their run game the first K week here well it's really hard right that they're they're not going to give you any opportunities to make some tackles for loss and and plays like that and they're not going to give you a whole lot of opportunities to rush the passer and you know that's the thing that can get frustrating for those guys you know I'm not going to say they did a great job I'm not going to say they didn't do their job um but when the game gets methodical like that it it takes a lot of discipline and um you know that that's where you know we we played a lot of guys we rolled some guys through there um maybe we didn't play as many or or the the the numbers of which we needed to uh I'll be curious to try to look at that but I think all in all those guys you know continue to hold up they continue to do what we ask them to do um and but we know this we got to find some ways to create some negative yardage plays so that the game doesn't become as methodical as it is Luke Barry had this theory that uh great teams have five great players and no glaring weaknesses I don't know if he shared that with you at any point do you still think you're trying to get to that point where you there's five great ones on this roster is is a lack of Playmakers an issue do you think I don't know I mean it's one game um it's hard to to say uh you know whether there's not enough Playmakers on the field I mean if you've been here long enough um you know that there's going to be days I don't want to make excuses days like this but games like this that all of a sudden become that slow and methodical uh I would think around here you've seen a few of those um that's not what you know maybe you envision every single day it's not maybe what we envision going into this thing but that's you know I give our guys a lot of credit for their ability to adjust adjust and adapt and it gets frustrating don't get me wrong being a former defensive lineman there's nothing worse than a 16-play drive that's you know two three four six um and you don't have a chance to rush the passer and when they do throw the football it's you know some type of Max Pro or some little boot or wag one that's a that's a lient to them um you know that they they did a really good job with those things but there's times when you just got to you just got to buckle down and you got to find ways to win and and that's what we had to do Luke um team had a lot a lot of long drives they always they didn't always end up with you know with touchdowns that just how do you sum up the night offens that's the thing I mean I thought we played pretty clean I don't have the numbers uh but when we didn't play clean and we hit the red zone you know we get we get a false start we get you know we had a couple negative yardage plays where you know we tried to bounce The Edge um that's the thing that if you there's something that's glaring that we got to do a better job of um it's when we get to the Red Zone I think offensively we we had too many penalties we put oursel in too many negative yardage plays and then put us in situations to kick field goals and that's not what we want to do and we know we've got to do a better job of that um you know and that's something we've emphasized and focused on and now we just got to make sure we do a better job Jesse Luke what are your initial impressions of what Tyler did and his debut here at Wisconsin and maybe some progress you feel like you've seen offensively yeah it's it's it's hard from the naked I just to say I mean you can look at the numbers and to be honest I think he did what we asked him to do um we we we wanted to be physical we wanted to run the football we want to manage you know the the game in in a in a way that you know we weren't going to just take shots um to start off with uh and and I think he did that you know I think there's going to be a few that you look back at it it goes back to the Red Zone the only thing I would say same thing with Tyler that we got to continue to to harp on and emphasize is we've got to do a better job in the Red Zone we can't take as many chances balls bounced off of a couple of their guys' hands um in the Red Zone in particular and then when you're in those you know situations where you're you know you're scrambling and you're you're you know you're in dire need sometimes hey let's just be good with throwing that ball out of bounds and and live to fight another day and go to second or third down and and uh got good opportunities to to gain what we need look I know it's tough without being able to watch the film over but terms of pass protection how do you think the line kind of handled they had that little stretch and that where the turnover gave up one sack I think that uh you know again I don't know that they had any penalties I think that that's you know one of those things that you know is got to be a strength of ours um and I think those guys did a really good job tonight I mean they loaded the Box they played a lot of bare defense they they made it difficult on on you know us in some situations to run the football and um you know but but all in all you know I think as a whole I felt like in the first half had we got to stop defensively when they had their long drive we had them in a position where I think the offensive line was was you know in some ways maybe going to take over um but that's credit to them that they they got the big drive and let their let their defense get that energy and momentum back and then obviously the the fake field goal was a was a really big play that uh created some some momentum their way and and made us have to to handle a lot of adversity just the first day with the first game with the communication helmet how' that end up you know I I couldn't tell you I didn't I don't use it a whole lot I know the iPad stuff was you know something we had experimented with and used in the uh in uh in the bowl game um so I'll be curious to to get the feedback not just from the coaches but the players that had them in their helmet because it is a bit of a trial in air I'm not saying that you know this is thing's going away but I mean we've got to figure out what the right part in in that is is there too much is there not enough you know how do we use it um and that's what things we got to get better at I'm not saying we didn't do a good job it's just until I get the feedback from both the players and the coaches I think we got to find a way you know game one to game two you got to find some of your biggest jumps and you know that's not just in the play it's in communication it's in some of these technology things that we you know that we have afforded to us um but there's a lot of things that you know will give us an opportunity to get a lot better at Z Luke you guys had a lot of long drives tonight I know it was already talked about but just in terms of needing those big plays you didn't take a ton of shots down the field would you like to have that a little bit be a better part bigger part of this offense yeah I I I think we know we would um you know but it it obviously got into a game and a situation that I'll be honest with the number one thing going in the game was we wanted to be able to pound the football we wanted to play physical we wanted to be able to you know kind of impose some will and make sure that you know we get these backs in this line rolling and if that meant it didn't mean we weren't going to take shots but you also had to go in and if if they're bailing and playing three deep and some things like that um it wasn't maybe as much of the opportunities to take some of those shots I think we threw one to Bryson um is the only real down thefield shot uh and so give them credit I mean they they did a good job at staying on top of those things and and not uh giving us those some of those opportunities but we all know that the the game is is a is a game of big plays and both sides the ball right and and if there's one glaring thing that we know we've got to continue to do and find ways it's not do you have enough players do you have enough athletes to make no there's It's a combination of those things but you also got to take what they give you and I think that uh sometimes you know when you have this perception of what it should look like based on you know what somebody else thinks or says uh and then it doesn't look like that you can get a little bit you know worried but the reality is it it you know there's a lot of different things that go on and happen and uh there there is a plan in place and and to be honest I I think we were pretty close to the plan um in all that we were want to do Nick go ahead Luke in kind of a methodical game like that you talked about taking what the defense gives you a little bit how is it so beneficial you know to have veteran backs like chz like tawi and how did they kind of set the tone early and then ice things a little bit late yeah I mean I I just think that you have confidence in them right I mean if you keep giving them the opportunities you know things are going to break and uh they did a great job they did a great job taking care of the football they get did a great job at you know making some of those plays you know there there's things they got to get better at too I think there's a couple of those negative yards places we get in the red zone that all of us have to recognize that we we have to do better um you know there's some younger guys in that in that room and that tailback in that running back room that we wanted to get some more opportunities to and and had a plan to and not because we thought we would be in a different position but really was we going to you know put them in but those guys were you know were feeling it and doing a really good job and um you know we had to go with continue to stay with them but it's it's a long year and we're going to need a lot of guys back there um but those two guys give us an opportunity to do what we want to do