The playing time for the Oregon game puts additional pressure on Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell

The Wisconsin Badgers football team may have a bye this week, but that doesn’t change the fact that people are still pretty upset about Luke Fickell. Anytime you lose a rivalry game to Iowa, this is the case, especially when the score is 42-10.

The next time they take the field, things won’t get any easier for Fickell and Co. In Week 12, the No. 1 Oregon Ducks are ready to head into town to battle in front of a sellout crowd in Madison. There will also be countless spectators across the country.

That’s because it was announced that Wisconsin vs. Oregon will air in primetime on November 16, with NBC televising the game nationally at 6:30 p.m. CT and 7:30 p.m. ET. Wisconsin will be hoping to keep it close, but Fickell and Co. are also under added pressure with so many people willing to watch this game:

Fickell is 0-5 against ranked teams as head coach of the Badgers. Many Wisconsin fans expect him to fall to 0-6 as the Ducks have looked nothing short of sensational this year. Dan Lanning has his team cooking, but the same can’t be said for Fickell.

After the 32-point loss to Iowa, it felt like things had bottomed out. Losing the Heartland Trophy by more than 30 points was an embarrassing performance as Kaleb Johnson and the Iowa game were unstoppable.

That was on Fickell and defensive coordinator Mike Tressel for not having his guys ready to rock. That simply cannot be the case against Oregon, as Lanning’s players will make Wisconsin pay a heavy price if they come out of the locker room sluggish. It’s up to Fickell to stop that, and since this is a primetime game, he simply can’t allow things to continue like this.