USC football faces Wisconsin this Saturday after getting a week off. We talked to Badgers Wire editor Jordon Lawrenz about the game. We asked Lawrenz to tell us what the Badgers' comeback from a 17-0 deficit at Penn State (a team USC recently defeated) truly meant:
"I think it’s still a bit too early to tell, but this is clearly another year where Penn State isn’t living up to the hype. It was still an incredible comeback, take nothing away from Colton Joseph who overcame three interceptions to lead that comeback. If it was a coach other than Luke Fickell, maybe they would’ve benched Joseph, but Fickell finally has his guy and it was great to see that win happen in real time," Lawrenz told us.
It was interesting to talk to Lawrenz and get his perspective on the state of the Wisconsin football program. Lawrenz told us Luke Fickell's seat is not remotely hot.
"I actually don’t think his seat is hot at all," Lawrenz told us. "That Penn State win was incredible, he’s got a great incoming recruiting class, and no one is going to fault him to losing to four ranked teams this season. Fickell is in a good spot for 2027 and beyond as long as he wins the games he’s supposed to."
Our view of Wisconsin is that Fickell has a lot to prove, but we're not going to stand here and insist that a Wisconsin insider doesn't know the Badger program as well as we do. We will defer to Lawrenz's hot seat analysis. It is noticeable that Lawrenz's analysis is as sunny and optimistic as it is.
All of that aside, USC needs to make Wisconsin feel less optimistic after this coming Saturday night.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Behind Enemy Lines: Trojans Wire talks to Badgers Wire about Wisconsin