The Wisconsin Badgers lost a tough game 38-21 to the USC Trojans on Saturday, dropping them to 2-2 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.

Head coach Luke Fickell took the podium after the loss, shared his thoughts on the game and provided important team updates.

Here’s everything Fickell said after the game, courtesy of USC Athletics.

Opening speech: You can’t go away and play two completely different halves and think you’re going to get a win over anyone, let alone a top-10 or top-15 program. It was a story of two halves. We went into halftime feeling really good and knowing these guys were going to come back here and try. This is her home. This is a damn good football team. I thought we were prepared for this.

We come out in the second half and go three times, the defense gets a stop, and then we fumble a punt. From then on, the defense struggled. On third down we just couldn’t get off the field. I will give them credit. They did a great job in the second half, especially in the third period. We didn’t find the rhythm either offensively or defensively. We couldn’t leave the field. It’s discouraging. It’s really difficult.

The game is all about making plays. In the first half we made some plays, had turnovers, made stops and made plays on third down. In the second half, they ran all plays on third down on both sides of the ball. We are in a difficult position, but we know there is an opportunity in this league. The way you looked at it before the season started, there were some possibilities and some opportunities. But you are going to have to go through some really difficult times and this is one of them. We will find out what is inside us.

On the challenges the team faces…

Fickell: It’s always difficult. When things don’t work out, don’t go well and you don’t win, it’s difficult. They continue to try to motivate and make sure everyone is on the same page. That was a tough game. I told them in the locker room that they decided to come here. We all chose to put ourselves in this situation knowing that the Big Ten is something completely different now. But that’s exactly what we wanted. This is what we asked for and now we got it. Sometimes you have to be a man and stand up. We will all figure out how to deal with adversity, how to handle ourselves, and what we can do to grow.

About the performance in the first half…

Fickell: That’s exactly where we want to be. We had the ability to control the ball, make plays, shoot down the field, establish the run and create plays defensively. We played really well in the first half, but then they turned the ball over. That’s part of the game, and you create these things. In this game, in the first half, we had some really good plays. You can’t say it’s a lost punt. That’s not it. It’s a combination of things. We have to find our momentum when things go against us. This is probably the biggest problem right now. It’s not a magical thing. You can’t say: take some time out, get everyone together and give a speech. Someone has to show up and make a play. They won’t give it to us. They won’t throw flags. We begged for a hold call. I’m the worst when things don’t go well, but you have to make the plays. We didn’t do that this afternoon.

On fourth-down conversions…

Fickell: This is probably one of those ones that’s like a drop on special teams. We work so hard on special teams, put in so much time and effort, and put all of our players on special teams. You won’t be a starter in this program unless you’re on special teams. It’s similar, right? We’re proud of finishing fourth and first and I don’t care where the place is. Whether secured in your own area or not. We must have the opportunity to discover who we are. The last two weeks have cost us a lot. I don’t know if I would switch to attempt a long field goal if we were on the field. If we’re not 90% on fourth-and-half, we’re not going to be 90% able to shoot 50-yard field goals, even if Vakos (Nathanial) can do a good job. We have to be able to do these things.

On USC’s wide receivers…

Fickell: You have to give them credit. They made hella plays. On the first touchdown throw, I thought he was tied up by our two guys. I thought Ny (Nyzier Fourqurean) did it, and then I thought Hunter (Wohler) did it, and he (Ja’Kobi Lane) caught it for a touchdown. There were also some one-on-one games in the second half, but you had to stay positive. You have to keep going. You can’t suddenly say, ‘Okay, we’re going to change.’ We have to put pressure on people and expect our guys to play. We have to get better at what we do.

About competing in individual fights…

Fickell: We lost the duels in the second half. It doesn’t matter whether they covered us with balls on the field or made the plays in the third half. I think all of the touchdowns in the second half were third down plays. I give them credit for making plays. These are plays that we have to be able to make. We made some of those plays in the first half. We hit the ball free. The quarterback (Miller Moss) did a really good job of getting the ball into a position for the receivers to make a play and we’re right there and they make it. I sound like a broken record, but you have to keep challenging, keep working, and get better.

That you don’t go below middle on the fourth and short ball…

Fickell: Everyone has an opinion. If you don’t go below center, not much may change. I don’t know if it’s important to go to center, to be in shotgun, to be in pistol or to be in three-man defense. If you don’t block, it’s really difficult to get a first down. Last week we didn’t block the guys and they came through and beat us. We didn’t block the players coming from the back edge and they attacked us in the backfield. We have to get better at what we do. We have to execute.