Dana Holgorsen never expected to be Nebraska’s offensive coordinator. Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell wasn’t expecting to fire the Badgers’ play-caller.
But that’s the situation as Fickell’s Badgers get ready to meet the Cornhuskers on Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Neb.
Fickell dismissed offensive coordinator Phil Longo on Sunday, the day after Wisconsin lost to No. 1 Oregon 16-13 in Madison, Wis. The Badgers (5-5, 3-4 Big Ten) led 13-6 with 4:43 left in the third quarter, but produced only 21 yards on four possessions — punt, punt, downs, interception — in the fourth quarter and failed to add to the lead.
Oregon scored a tying touchdown and kicked a game-winning field goal with 2:36 to play.
As much as Fickell didn’t sound interested in talking about Longo’s departure, it was a prime topic. He emphasized that it was time for the program to “move forward.”
“It’s not about play calls, it’s not about points scored, it’s not about touchdowns. It’s moving forward with leadership, and that’s, to me, what we have to do and why we’re doing it right now,” said Fickell, who is in his third year at Wisconsin and brought in before Longo last season.
The Badgers are averaging 23.9 points per game and have lost three games in a row while scoring 36 total points.
They’ve also played most of the season with backup quarterback Braedyn Locke running the offense. Starter Tyler Van Dyke went down with a knee injury in Week 3 against Alabama. Locke has been inconsistent at best, completing 55 percent of his passes for 1,514 yards. He has an equal number of interceptions as touchdowns (9).
Then there’s Holgorsen, a head coach for 13 seasons who most recently ran the show at Houston from 2019-23. Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule brought Holgorsen in during the Cornhuskers’ bye week to get his thoughts about the offense.
“(Rhule) said, ‘Just come try to figure this out, I need your help.’ I was grateful to him for saying, ‘I need your help,’ I think a great deal of him. I think a great deal of this program, so I was excited to jump on it,” Holgorsen said.
Apparently impressed with the newcomer’s perspective, Rhule installed him as offensive coordinator. His predecessor, Marcus Satterfield, is working as tight ends coach.
Holgorsen’s debut couldn’t prevent the Cornhuskers (5-5, 2-5) from losing their fourth straight game, 28-20, at Southern California. The hosts led 21-20 before extending their lead with 2:09 to play.
Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola then led Nebraska on a 13-play, 56-yard drive. On first-and-15 at the USC 19 with five seconds left, Raiola was picked off in the endzone.
“We left a lot out there offensively,” Rhule said. “The offense is at some point here going to really take off with the kind of direction we’re headed.”
The Cornhuskers are averaging 23.2 points per game.
–Field Level Media