The Weekender: Confidence in Luke Fickell Wanes in Wisconsin, Billy Napier Era at Florida Circles the Drain, and Michigan State Players Nearly Walked Out on the Team Last Year

By George Eisner on September 15, 2024 at 4:00 pm
Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell
Robert Goddin — Imagn Images
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Own the group chat with The Weekender, highlighting the biggest stories in college sports, standout writing from Eleven Warriors, and a glance at what's next.

Displeasure with Luke Fickell Grows at Wisconsin

Despite the wealth of in-state non-conference rivalry games reshuffled to Week 3 from the end of November in wake of conference realignment across college football this past season, yesterday's slate sadly yield no upset losses among any ranked teams. Therefore, most fans across the sport can probably forgive Wisconsin's insubstantial effort at home against the defending SEC champion Alabama Crimson Tide, especially given the latter entered favored to win by more than two touchdowns.

However, the game gradually devolved into a complete romp as the Badger faithful helplessly watched their team fall by a 42-10 final score. While the game saw itself thrown into chaos after medical officials carted starting Wisconsin quarterback Tyler Van Dyke off the field with an injury, fans in Madison did not seem to rationalize the result as easily as head coach Luke Fickell did in defeat.

The Badgers now sit at 2-1 after underwhelming results in their first two wins that included a 28-14 win over Western Michigan in which Wisconsin trailed at home during the fourth quarter and a 27-13 victory over FCS South Dakota. Fans have already started turning on Fickell prior to hitting the two-year mark since he earning the head coaching job in Madison following the 2022 dismissal of Paul Chryst.

Some local media figures with a longer-term view and patience for Badger football success have attempted to provide voices of reason. However, as Wisconsin heads into a bye week and prepares to play USC in its first road game at the end of September, criticism may only continue to mount.

In addition to the Trojans, the Badgers will face at least three other teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 this season in the form of Penn State, Oregon and Nebraska. Failure to win any of those games and an upset loss elsewhere could see the team finish with a .500 record and potentially miss a bowl game.

Billy Napier Appears On the Way Out of Florida

If any college football coach faces more immediate danger than Fickell today, Billy Napier seems like the guy.

Napier joined the Gators in 2022 after a tenure with the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns in which he led the school to a 40-12 record over four seasons, including a 12-1 campaign in his final year. He replaced Dan Mullen after the former Mississippi State head coach managed only a 34-15 record in four seasons, including an underwhelming 5-6 effort in his last year that yielded a 2-6 record in SEC play and a near disaster at home against Samford in which Florida conceded 52 points.

While patience for Mullen seemed short, it appears in even narrower supply for his successor. Napier managed a meager 11-14 record across his first two seasons in Gainesville, and his latest campaign has provided similar encouragement. Florida finds itself off to a 1-2 start at the moment after getting blown out at home by Miami in its opener and shut out at home in the first half against Texas A&M yesterday.

Less than 24 hours later, reports have already emerged that Gator boosters seem eager to circle the money wagons to drain the Swamp of Napier.

It remains unclear who would provide head coaching relief in wake of a potential Napier dismissal, though some speculation points to offensive analyst Dan Enos. Florida travels to Mississippi State next weekend for its first road game of the season.

Details Emerge of MSU Player Response to Sparty NIL Collective Collapse

Last year, two days after Michigan State fired Mel Tucker for cause, news broke on the night before the Spartans' road game against Iowa that the MSU NIL collective Spartan Dawgs 4 Life planned to cancel payments for all but less than five players on the football team. The group claimed it had failed to break a 100-subscriber threshold since its founding, making its continued existence unsustainable.

This week, more details emerged in an article from Bloomberg regarding how Michigan State players responded to the news while preparing for their meeting with the Hawkeyes in Iowa City. According to the report, several Spartan players threatened to sit out of the game upon hearing the news and one even demanded to return to the airport after learning of the payment suspensions from an email received during the team's flight.

What threatened to become the first mass walkout over pay in modern college football unfolded on Sept. 29, 2023, at a Marriott in Iowa City, Iowa. As team members from the visiting Spartans of Michigan State University gathered in the lobby the evening before their game against the Iowa Hawkeyes, the mood was charged with anxiety. “Man, they pulled all the money from us,” one player said, according to a person who was there and who asked for anonymity to protect their relations with the team. “Take me to the airport, I’m going back,” another announced. Soon, others began to discuss sitting out the game.


During the short flight from East Lansing, Michigan, around three dozen of the team’s players had received a stunning email from a booster group that had committed to paying them. The group was called Spartan Dawgs 4 Life. Backed by some of the university’s deepest-pocketed alumni, including the mortgage loan billionaire Mat Ishbia and technology entrepreneur Steve St. Andre, the Spartan Dawgs had raised $6 million, according to a spokesperson for the group. At least one football player had been getting $10,000 a month. Now the group told some Spartans it was ending those payments—dawgs for life no more. As the players angrily processed the news, coaches tried to calm them, and a school athletic official made a frantic call to another fundraiser, from a second booster group, to try to secure their money. The clock was ticking toward kickoff. — Peter Robison and Noah Buhayar, Bloomberg

Michigan State ultimately played, but lost to Iowa by a 26-16 final score. It served as the third loss during the Spartans' six-game losing streak last season, and MSU ultimately went 2-6 after Tucker's dismissal to finish with a 4-8 record.

The Spartans have gotten off to a much more encouraging 3-0 start this season under new head coach Jonathan Smith. However, the near-revolt by the team's players a year ago speaks to the tumultuous situation NIL considerations present for not only Michigan State, but also college football teams across the country. 

ICYMI

Film Study: Silver Bullets Stuffing the Run

Kyle Jones has already achieved midseason form just a few weeks into Ohio State's latest campaign. Check out his video breakdown of how the Buckeyes totally stifled the Western Michigan rushing attack and subscribe to the 11W YouTube channel for future episodes as well as the latest footage from the beat and podcasts from staff.

Ohio State Announces the New "1922 Club" at the Horseshoe

Craving an exclusive atmosphere amid the chaos of Ohio State football games? Earlier this week, the university announced it will begin construction of a “a speakeasy-style venue” known as the 1922 Club that will open in 2026. Membership fees will reportedly start at $4,500 and include several perks for gameday experiences.

The 20th Anniversary of Mike Nugent's Iconic Field Goal Against Marshall

Ahead of the Buckeyes' third-ever meeting with the Thundering Herd next Saturday, relive the first time these teams played each other in September of the 2004 season. Marshall gave Ohio State quite a scare that day, but thanks to the leg of a two-time All-American and one of the most prolific receiving performances in OSU football history, the Buckeyes prevailed in dramatic fashion.

What’s Next

  • Men's Tennis: Columbus Challenger, Monday-Sunday, All Day(s)
  • Men's Soccer: vs. Penn State, Tuesday, 6 p.m. ET
  • Women's Soccer: vs. Iowa, Thursday, 7 p.m. ET on B1G+
  • Cross Country: Roy Griak Invitational, Friday, 11:45 a.m. ET
  • Field Hockey: vs. Michigan State, Friday, 4 p.m. ET on B1G+
  • Women's Volleyball: @ Bowling Green, Friday, 6 p.m. ET
  • 76 Days: The Game
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