Badgers reflect on leadership following Northwestern loss

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - The Badgers fell 24-10 on Saturday at home to Northwestern and it was not the performance players, coaches, or fans wanted.

The players said the Badgers looked flat and head coach Luke Fickell called the loss an “embarrassment.”

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Post game, safety Hunter Wohler and quarterback Tanner Mordecai had animated, slightly profane thoughts on what is going wrong for Wisconsin.

“I want to know who has a big ‘give a sh-- factor’ in this program,” Mordecai said. “So yeah, I’ll be paying attention to all that.”

Wohler said he was lost for words after the game and this is rock bottom for the team. The Muskego-native added that the Badgers need to re-evaluate who wants to be there.

“Our backs are against the wall like they’ve never been before,” Wohler said. “How many guys do give a sh--? About this team, about this program, about the culture, about winning and losing, and about each other. And there might be some weeding out that we need to do because right now, the things that we have going on is not what Wisconsin football is.”

But moving forward is key. Even though former Sun Prairie linebacker Marty Strey had a limited role against the Wildcats, the Sports Leadership major had some profound thoughts on where to go next for Wisconsin.

“Leadership is not easy in the face of adversity,” Strey said. “But, people are put in those positions because they can handle themselves in troubling times and obviously, this team has faced some adversity. There’s a balance between handling adverse situations where you get on somebody, you pick someone’s head up and you continue to motivate them. And I think there’s a balance of how we’re going to respond from this. Obviously, I think everybody in the locker room is disappointed. This loss stinks, this stretch has stunk, as a leader and leaders within the team, and there’s a lot of them, you have to determine the best way to respond and motivate your teammates.”

The Badgers play Nebraska on Saturday at 6:30 for senior day on NBC15.

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