“Fire Luke Fickell”: Fans Call For Wisconsin HC’s Job as Badgers Get Dominated By Iowa in Scoreless First Half

As the Iowa Hawkeyes (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) and the Wisconsin Badgers (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) headed into their Week 9 matchup of the 2026 college football regular season with identical overall records, the game seemed like an even one.

However, the first half of this encounter saw the Iowa Hawkeyes absolutely dominate the Wisconsin Badgers 20-0.

The severity of Wisconsin's scoreless outing against the Hawkeyes has already prompted fans to call for the removal of Badgers head coach Luke Fickell.

"Fire (Luke) Fickell, this is completely unacceptable and will never change under him", wrote a fan on X.

At the time of writing, the Wisconsin Badgers have yet to get on the scoreboard as they trail the Iowa Hawkeyes 0-30 with less than a minute left in the third quarter.

Before entering their Week 9 2026 regular-season college football encounter against the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Wisconsin Badgers under the stewardship of head coach Luke Fickell had an overall record of 5-2, a record that might not be considered particularly bad.

However, the nature of Wisconsin's hammering by the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday has raised questions about head coach Luke Fickell's future with the program.

If the Wisconsin Badgers part ways with Fickell, the program would owe a $21.3 million buyout . This buyout comes against the backdrop of the program giving the head coach a massive seven-year deal worth $55 million back in November 2022. As the program further extended his contract by one year in 2024, Fickell is slated to remain with the side up until March 31, 2031.

College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in tennis , college football , men's college basketball , women's college basketball , and college baseball!