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Jim Leonhard explains reasons behind Wisconsin’s blowout losses, goal for Badgers in Week 6
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Jim Leonhard enters Week 6 as interim head coach for Wisconsin, stepping to the helm after Paul Chryst was fired on Sunday. Leonhard also gets the unenviable task of trying to turn things around after back-to-back blowout losses in B1G play.
Beyond those two losses, the Badgers are 0-3 so far this season against Power 5 opponents. And in regards to the losses in the B1G, Leonhard believes he knows what is to blame.
On Tuesday, Leonhard said Wisconsin has “been getting outplayed.” That’s what Leonhard believes has been the culprit for getting blown out.
This Saturday, Leonhard wants to see if the Badgers are “willing to sit in there for four quarters and just battle.”
#Badgers J.Leonhard: “We’ve been getting outplayed. That is why the last two games have ended the way they have. That has been our calling card…We’re going to see if you’re willing to sit in there for four quarters and just battle.” UW hasn’t been a four-quarter team.
— Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) October 4, 2022
Wisconsin gets a much more favorable matchup in Week 6 with a road trip vs. Northwestern, but there’s no reason to expect a cakewalk against the Wildcats. Pat Fitzgerald’s program has not won since Week 0, but all 4 losses have come by one possession since then.
As for the head-to-head matchup, Wisconsin leads the all-time series, 61-37-5. However, Wisconsin is just 5-4 against the Wildcats since 2013.
We’ll see if Leonhard can begin his head coaching career 1-0 on Saturday.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.