For Wisconsin fans unhappy with the team’s current form and the program’s overall trajectory under coach Luke Fickell, there’s at least one Power Four team currently in worse shape.
That is Sam Houston State, which is led by first-year coach Phil Longo, Wisconsin’s former offensive coordinator. The Bearkats fell to 0-8 on the 2025 season with a 55-14 loss to Louisiana Tech on Friday night. The 41-point margin extended the team’s season-long point differential to minus-194. With Week 10 action ongoing, it currently ranks No. 135 of 136 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in both ESPN’s Football Power Index and SP+.
Sam Houston went 10-3 in 2024, capped by a New Orleans Bowl win over Georgia Southern. Head coach K.C. Keeler left for the Temple opening after the season, leading to Longo’s hire. The team is winless since that point, with just one game decided by fewer than 17 points.
Former Wisconsin quarterback Mabrey Mettauer, who followed Longo to Sam Houston State this offseason, has appeared in five of the team’s eight games in 2025, completing 32 of 51 pass attempts for 250 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The team as a whole is averaging just 16.6 points per game and allows an FBS-worst 40.9.
Of course, Wisconsin has dealt with offensive struggles of its own in 2025, averaging just 12.5 points per game and scoring one touchdown in its last 15 quarters. The program’s shift from Longo to Jeff Grimes has yet to lead to tangible improvement in any relevant statistical category. But while Badgers fans are right to be unhappy with the team’s current form, there is at least one FBS team having a tougher time on the field.
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