Nebraska-Wisconsin Preview with Rajeev Chhabra, Host of The Bucky Report Podcast

T.J. Birkel

After four consecutive losses, the Nebraska football team will try to get back on track at home against Wisconsin on Saturday. The Huskers and Badgers both come into the game at 5-5, with each team fighting for bowl eligibility with two games remaining in the season. 

I talked to Rajeev Chhabra, host of The Bucky Report Podcast, to get the Wisconsin perspective on the upcoming game. 

Interview with Rajeev Chhabra, Host of The Bucky Report Podcast

Wisconsin has lost three straight, including a nail biter against #1 Oregon this past weekend. What are the vibes like around the fan base right now? What are the expectations for the remainder of the season?  

The vibes are fairly mixed right now across the fan base. Ultimately, no one is thrilled that we've struggled against good teams yet again this year, but the overall feeling is that we are building something for the future. Coming into the year, we wanted to beat up on bad teams, and compete and get some wins against the top of the conference. Our schedule was extremely difficult on paper so all fans, myself included, were very hesitant picking any more than 8 wins.  Fans were really hoping for a signature win this year but that just wasn't in the cards. There were moments of serious optimism through the season, but losing 42-10 at rival Iowa left an incredibly sour taste in the mouths of all Badgers. At this point, beating Nebraska and Minnesota would mean another 7-5 season and, all things considered, that's not a bad record.  Nebraska will be tough but losing to Minnesota is simply not an option.

Nebraska replaced their offensive coordinator last week, and Wisconsin just fired their OC on Monday. These aren’t exactly the glory days of Tom Osborne and Barry Alvarez, are they? 

They sure aren't the glory days! Wisconsin has still been a very successful team over the last several years, despite not being what we had hoped. Ultimately, we still maintain the country's 3rd longest active consecutive bowl streak (22) and it’s something Badgers are very proud of (behind only Georgia and Oklahoma). Both programs have head coaches they believe can take the programs to the next level, so the next 5 years should be super interesting for our schools!

Head Coach Luke Fickell is in year 2 at the helm in Madison. The Badgers went 7-5 last year and are battling for bowl eligibility this year. What’s the current view of Coach Fickell among Wisconsin fans? 

There are certainly those calling for a change, but you get that with every fan base.  Surely there is a group of Husker fans who already want Rhule out…it’s just inevitable. That being said, the vast majority of fans…

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