While Notre Dame and Wisconsin have faced off plenty of times, no one would call them rivals. Likewise, while Marcus Freeman and Luke Fickell know each other quite well, they aren’t rival coaches either. Still, Sunday brings plenty of emotion and a strong desire to beat their counterparts.
It’s hard to remember that, in fact, when Freeman and Fickell face off, it will be the student taking on the master. Freeman isn’t considered the master this time around. At least he won’t be until he wins, and wins big, over Fickell.
Fickell coached Freeman at Ohio State before the two reunited at Cincinnati, where Freeman served as the Bearcats’ defensive coordinator under his former position coach. Their respect is clear, but so is the intensity behind a matchup each badly wants to win.
“I got a lot of respect for Luke Fickell,” Freeman told the assembled media during his first press conference during a game week of the year. “At the end of the day, it's not about us. It's about our team and our program, but it'll be good to see him pregame. I haven't seen him in a while. I have a lot of respect for him.”
Notre Dame football gives Marcus Freeman chance to best former mentor Luke Fickell
Freeman added that he considers the Badgers’ coach someone who made him the man he is. He also credited Fickell with playing a big part in where he is today.
Fickell, meanwhile, sounded like a proud poppa when he talked about meeting Freeman on the field of battle in Week 1.
"I've known him for a long time, and I've been around some really good coaches,” explained Fickell at his own press conference on Monday. “Coaches like that continue to find ways to make themselves even better. So seeing the growth of that program and that team from afar, there is a part of it that makes you happy about it, having a history with a lot of the guys that are there with that staff.”
The average fan might not realize how many ties the Wisconsin and Notre Dame staffs have, but those connections only sharpen the stakes.
Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli and receivers coach Mike Brown were all members of Fickell’s staff at Cincinnati. Guidugli and Brown later followed Fickell to Wisconsin before Freeman hired them away. Even Joe Rudolph knows Fickell well, having been a grad assistant at Ohio State when Fickell was the linebackers coach in Columbus. Chris Ash was the co-defensive coordinator with Fickell when they teamed up to win the national title in 2014.
All those ties among deeply competitive men add several extra interesting storylines for Sunday night. Even with that history between the staffs at Wisconsin and Notre Dame, neither side will hesitate to try to bury the other if given the chance.
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