The Wisconsin Badgers are now 6-3 after a 31-10 win over Rutgers on Saturday. This makes the Badgers bowl eligible for the first time since the 2023 season.

While Fickell has been the target of much criticism during his time as head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers, the team's current bowl eligibility is something the head coach deserves credit for.

For Wisconsin fans, this season has been somewhat of a step forward for the program, but the expectations are greater than just getting to a bowl game with six wins in the regular season.

Fickell Deserves Credit for Getting Wisconsin Back on Track

The Badgers have had plenty of struggles this season, and Fickell has often been the target of many fans' anger. Many fans feel that Wisconsin just isn't good enough to compete with the top teams in the Big Ten.

Wisconsin didn't play its best game, but there were some good things that the Badgers can build on, especially on offense. Freshman quarterback Ryan Hopkins made his first career start for Wisconsin and completed 18-of-24 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns in the game.

Other contributors included wideout Shamar Rigby, who had 71 yards on four catches, and tight end Jacob Harris, who had a 66-yard touchdown reception.

Fickell and the coaching staff did a good job of preparing for the game against Rutgers. They had to prepare a freshman quarterback for his first start, and he had a very solid performance. He looked comfortable in the offense and produced the type of numbers that they haven't been able to consistently squeese out of Colton Joseph.

The Badgers went into halftime against Rutgers with a 13-10 lead, and the defense held the Scarlet Knights scoreless for the rest of the game.

Six Wins Can't Be the Standard at Wisconsin

Wisconsin is used to competing for Big Ten championships and playing in some of the country's biggest bowl games. While six wins this season is already two more wins than last, that's not what fans were hoping for when Fickell was hired.

Wisconsin beat Rutgers by 21 points, but the game was tied at 10 in the second quarter. It took the Badgers a much better second half to put away the Scarlet Knights.

It will be exciting to see what Hopkins can do in the future. He made some great throws and didn't look overwhelmed by the moment. However, Rutgers is 2-7 on the season, so there is plenty of room for improvement in Wisconsin's offense against better defenses.

The Badgers also have some younger players on the team that the coaching staff needs to get a better read on. Hopkins started against Rutgers, and he performed well in the game. Now the coaching staff needs to see if he can continue to play that way.

The win over Rutgers was promising, but the Badgers were just shut out 30-0 at Iowa a week ago. That's a big difference in just a week's time.

Wisconsin has three games left in the regular season, including this weekend's matchup against Maryland. While getting the Badgers back to a bowl game is a good start, Wisconsin fans have seen this program do so much more in the past.

Can Fickell get them back there?