Wisconsin's Luke Fickell talks Alabama's 'ass kick,' Tyler Van Dyke's injury and more

Luke Fickell didn't mince his words on Saturday after the Wisconsin head coach suffered a 42-10 loss to the Alabama national football team at Camp Randall.

“I'm going to give you guys the same message I just gave them: If you've never taken a beating, you just took one,” Fickell said. “It hurts and it's not easy, but in this game it's going to happen. It's part of the game, it sucks.”

“That doesn't mean you didn't work hard, that doesn't mean you didn't prepare. That means you didn't do your job. And whether it's a one-point loss or a 32-point loss, it hurts. It's a good, old-fashioned beating at home, and that hurts.”

Wisconsin stayed close to Alabama early on, but missed a field goal late in the first half that would have cut the Crimson Tide's lead to one point. Two plays later, UA scored a touchdown and the loss was sealed.

The Badgers weren't helped by the fact that their quarterback Tyler Van Dyke suffered a leg injury early in the game. Fickell gave an update afterwards and didn't sound particularly optimistic.

“We'll hopefully get some more clarity here soon, do an MRI and stuff like that,” Fickell said. “I don't think it looks really good for him, and that's really, really difficult. I think he's been really well prepared, and I think he's grown in these first few weeks and was really sharp to start this game.”

Wisconsin had serious trouble stopping Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe on Saturday. The redshirt junior threw three touchdowns and ran for two more.

The Badgers head coach then answered a question about why it was so difficult to defend Milroe.

“It's a combination,” Fickell said. “They run him well, maybe a little more than I would have expected. But that's something that's a big equalizer for him. He throws a great deep ball and they have some guys that can go up and catch it.”

The road doesn't get much easier for Wisconsin from here. They have a break next week before traveling to Los Angeles to face Southern Cal.

According to Fickell, how the team takes the time to react to the loss to the Crimson Tide will be crucial.

“A beating is a beating, but if you can get back up and keep going, you can grow from it,” Fickell said. “But if you can't, it demoralizes you, it keeps you down, it sets you back and it makes you lose confidence. There's nothing positive about it. There are some guys who have accomplished some things, and we'll figure that out. But I think it's more about the bigger picture and what kind of passion and leadership we have.”