Fans see some optimism, a lot of concerns in Wisconsin football loss to No. 4 Notre Dame

Good first half. Liked the energy and physicality. Forgot how to tackle in 2nd half. Can't give a good team 2 free TDs. Baffling why LF would punt from the 50 on 4th & 7 down 2 scores. That stuff bugged me last year too. Indicates you've given up which is how they played late.

— Chris Schrantz (@cmschrantzPT) September 7, 2026

Looks like every Fickle team so far. No running game. No deep passes to stretch field. No chunk plays. QB critical mistake…
Defense starts well but wears down and cannot get a turnover.
No halftime adjustments.
Fickle quiet when his QB 1 gets targeted…

— Fred Melius MD (@fmelius) September 7, 2026

Defense be ok, 7-5 record but that’s what we are happy with? O-line looked better, RBs have no juice, what happened to RBU? Fickell played safe too many times and didn’t go for it on ND 33 or their 45 down 3 scores. He just chomps on his gum on sidelines no intensity

— Chuck Wilkenson (@mke856321) September 7, 2026

At first, I was encouraged. Second half, obviously less so.

But post game comments? OMG. Hope gone. I’ve heard it before. #firefickell

— Scott Kelly (@TheScottKelly) September 7, 2026

It was everything you'd want out of a loss as a 21-point dog. One half of promise. One half of humilty. Now the hard part ... out-preparing, out-playing, out-adjusting and out-distancing every opponent you can the rest of the way. Then match your 2025 total in upset wins (2).

— Rob Hernandez (@RobHernandezGLF) September 7, 2026

Encouraged. Offense can move the ball and defense will be solid. You aren’t going to play a top 5 team every week and have a favorable schedule

— Scott Herbst (@herbst20) September 7, 2026

Halftime adjustments have always favored the other coach.

— john berg (@BadgerJohnBerg) September 7, 2026

We have the best damn punter and the worst damn coach in college football.

— Chris(not)Chelios (@ChrisNotChelios) September 7, 2026

The refs were exposed. Outcome may be the same, but it was a hell of lot closer than the score. It was a business decision.

— Andrew Davison, Esq.🇺🇸🇺🇦🇨🇦 (@Gobucky3) September 7, 2026

Expected them to lose…wanted to see a different play style and they have it….two possessions after half made all the difference inn the game

— Mr VV (@punchthecore) September 7, 2026

Scheduled loss. Some good stuff to build on and some stuff to clean up. My biggest concern is Fickell seems to be the exact same coach he always has been at UW. Passive, risk adverse, etc. Any success this season starts with him, he’s gotta be willing to be different.

— Alex (@ajballer138) September 7, 2026

Who's the Badgers HC this time next year, Jason Eck or someone else?

— Arianit Ismaili (@a_ismaili) September 7, 2026

More optimistic than most. Joseph will be a huge improvement at QB. O line was much better. Doubt Wisconsin will see a defense with that much speed. Can’t spot a team like Norte Dame 14 points, either.

— Gary Brilowski (@gbrilo) September 7, 2026