The Wisconsin footballteam walked out of Minnesota with a 4–8 record, another Axe loss, and the unmistakable feeling that the program is staring down the most important offseason of the Luke Fickell era.
And if you’re looking for the single trend that ties together how Wisconsin ended up here — through the injuries, the poor coaching hires, the inconsistencies, the back-to-back bowl misses for the first time since 1991–92 — it all points back to quarterback play. Not as an excuse, and not as a get-out-of-jail-free card, but as the defining reality of a horrible three-year stretch that has never once gone according to the blueprint.