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It’s not going well in Madison for coach Luke Fickell.

Wisconsin students were chanting “Fire Fickell” as the Badgers trailed Maryland 20-0 at halftime on Saturday. Wisconsin entered the game on the heels of a blowout loss at Alabama in Week 3 following wins over Miami (Ohio) and Middle Tennessee to start the season.

Maryland blocked both a field goal and a punt in the first half as Wisconsin QB Danny O’Neil threw an interception and the Badgers punted four other times and turned the ball over on downs across the first two quarters.

It was ugly.

And it’s hard to see how things could get much better for Wisconsin as the season goes on. Yes, O’Neil is starting his third straight game after starting QB Billy Edwards continues to rehab a knee injury he suffered in Week 1. But even with a fully healthy Edwards, Wisconsin was facing an uphill battle for bowl eligibility in 2025.

The Badgers may be underdogs in each of their final eight games of the season. The Badgers head to No. 21 Michigan on Oct. 4 before hosting Iowa and No. 1 Ohio State. Then Wisconsin goes to No. 6 Wisconsin, hosts Washington, visits No. 19 Indiana, has No. 9 Illinois at home and then goes to Minnesota for the regular-season finale.

There aren’t many wins to find on that schedule.

Wisconsin hired Fickell from Cincinnati after the Badgers parted ways with Paul Chryst during the 2022 season following a 2-3 start. Before that season, Wisconsin had won at least nine games in every full season of Chryst’s tenure since he took over for Gary Andersen after the 2014 season.

So far, Fickell’s best season is a 7-6 campaign in 2023. A year ago, the Badgers went 5-7 and missed a bowl game for the first time since 2001. Barring a dramatic turnaround in 2025, Wisconsin is now staring at the prospect of back-to-back seasons without a bowl for the first time since 1991 and 1992.