⚡ CFB Dashboard

STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania– Wisconsin football has been close, or competitive, on numerous occasions for a monster victory, falling just short a couple of times in the last few years. And on Saturday, the Badgers broke through in dramatic fashion, coming back from a 17-0 deficit, to win 24-20 in Happy Valley over a top 15-ranked Penn State.  Following the huge win, Badgers head coach Luke Fickell spoke with the media in attendance. Opening Statement "Well, obviously, all is well that ends well. This is the hardest part to me about where I've kind of been the last four years of college football. It's just trying to figure out and find out what you got." "There's so many new guys in that locker room you know, where there's some 35 guys or, you know, maybe the 12 new starters. And, there are times like this." "I don't just mean the victory, I just mean, like being on the road, being in a hostile environment, that you really kind of learn more about each other, I've been saying that all the year. It's like, we're going to have to go through some of this." "This is going to be a journey. I know people are going to be frustrated with us, or our guys will be frustrated with us at times too, and as a coach I get frustrated at times too, but like this journey is about continuing to build and to climb." "I don't know that there's any tougher situation with what we were in out there today. And to see these guys not falter, to see guys not kind of get down on Colton and give up on him, it makes me so proud." "The win is the win. Don't get me wrong. This game is about winning, and we talked about it all year long. But, to see how they handled it, to see how they kept fighting, and how they did not give in." "There is a conviction that you have to have, and we learned a lot about our guys today." On how validating it was for a win like this, one of these games to go their way "Nothing just goes your way, you know? That is what I try to tell these guys before the game and at halftime. I said if you want something, you need to go get it. Nobody is going to hand you anything in this world, and, in this world, everything is earned, and it is a battle." "For me, to see these guys battle, and come through, nothing makes you more proud. It is like being a proud parent, and, I don't know if I have had one more special. I know that I haven't in four years. I have had some bad nights here (at Penn State), and, so to have it the way that it did, you couldn't write it any better." On if he considered pulling Colton Joseph at all "No, no, we didn't. In some of those things, you are just trying to get a feel for the team, too. You look in the guys' eyes, and look at Colton, and if he looked rattled, maybe there would be a conversation about it." "But, he never did. Because of the way he was, and the way the offensive line was. I give them a ton of credit, nobody flinched. I am learning so much about us. And, these guys are learning so much about me." On what the moment meant after postgame "It's been a tough one. You guys know that, you know. You guys have been here every day, and every week with us. And, probably seen a little bit of what we saw in the first half, and probably had your story written for the second half. "Sometimes, you do get in those ruts, and that's where I keep challenging the guys. Like, we are learning each other. This is a journey, and a climb." "There was a sense of pride, and joy, and, like I said I have been to this stadium, and not feeling like this plenty of times. But, to see these guys the way they handled it, the way that they went about it, the way they came back to win. Nothing I can write that would be any better." On how the defense never flinched tonight, even in tough spots "I am incredibly proud of those guys. I am incredibly proud of Coach Tress. Those guys did not waver on that sideline." "They stayed aggressive. That quarterback is a really good one. I don't know if we sacked him once. I know we got after him, I know we hit him a few times. He is a really, really good football player." "There were three 3rd and longs that he single-handedly made happen. And, for those guys, not to get frustrated, like we've seen us do at times– I think it was huge." "What we learned from game one, I hope, is what we are starting to see. An emotional toughness, and what it has to be. I think that is where some of this growth, obviously I saw today." On if there were some things that were positive, even outside of the score early "I said it last week that the scoreboard doesn't always tell the story. The scoreboard at the end tells the story, but it doesn't always tell the full story." "I don't think the scoreboard last week told the story of the first quarter, and, I don't know if the scoreboard told the whole story tonight here. There are a lot more things in the story that grew with us, that I don't know if I would want to go through again, but it is great that we did." "The things that go into those final results, are going to last a long time." On how the front of the defense played today "(Smiles) Those guys were awesome and did a great job. That is a convicted team in running the football. That is a really tough team to prepare for, and, their quarterback is dynamic." "I can't wait to watch them, to see what we can even do to be better, but I liked what those guys did in their ability to learn and grow from week one. I think we flipped the script tonight." On Javan Robinson and what he has meant to the defense "He's an underrated guy that comes in and gives some maturity, not just to the defense, but to the back end. By nature, that is a group that, are different birds. By nature, corners are longer guys, they are on their island, and he is a guy that ties everybody together." "He is incredibly valuable to us as a player, but, even more so as a leader. I thought he played great, he doesn't panic, he got beat or slipped, and didn't panic. He knocked the ball away, and caused the guy to drop the ball. He is a football player."