Luke Fickell named Bear Bryant National Coach of the Week

Luke Fickell named Bear Bryant National Coach of the Week

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Luke Fickell named Bear Bryant National Coach of the Week
Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell holds a play sheet and wears a headset on the sidelines during the game against the Western Illinois Leathernecks at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, on September 12, 2026. (Photo by Ross Harried/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images

After a miraculous 24-20 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions this week, Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell was named the Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant National Coach of the Week. It’s the first time Fickell has won the award since being hired at Wisconsin.

Fickell and the Badgers came back 17 points from behind to stun Penn State on the road, thanks to two late fourth-quarter touchdown drives and a number of stops on defense in a tough battle. Wisconsin didn’t play cleanly on offense, but they executed enough when it mattered most, while the defense was lights out as the Badgers got their biggest win under Fickell.

Fickell was named the Bear Bryant National Coach of the Year back at Cincinnati in 2021, when he took the Bearcats to a 13-1 record and a College Football Playoff appearance. After regularly struggling in games against ranked opponents, the Badgers have really started to turn things around since the end of last season.

Fickell got his first ranked wins at Wisconsin when the Badgers upset the Washington Huskies and Illinois Fighting Illini at Camp Randall Stadium in November last year. Now, Wisconsin has a major win on its resume for 2026, beating Penn State on the road in one of the most hostile environments in the country.

The Badgers hadn’t beaten the Nittany Lions on the road since 2003, and were on the way to another loss with under eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter following Colton Joseph’s third interception. In fact, ESPN’s Analytics gave Penn State a 98.5 percent chance to win at the point.

Nonetheless, Wisconsin turned things around in a big way, as the defense got four three-and-outs in the fourth quarter, while the offense scored back-to-back touchdown drives to end the game. As a result, they’re getting some national praise this week, with the Badgers narrowly missing out on the AP Top 25 and Fickell winning Coach of the Week.

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