5 Things We Learned from OSU Coach Luke Fickell's Press Conference

After an exhilarating win over Wisconsin last week, Ohio State fans are starting to breathe again. Ohio State's weekly press conference was filled with questions about quarterback Braxton Miller, Big Ten Championship hopes and head coach Luke Fickell's future.

Click "Begin Slideshow" to discover five things we learned from Coach Fickell's press conference.

5. The Most Important People Are Already on His Bandwagon

Probably the most important question asked during the press conference was about Coach Fickell's staying power as the Ohio State head coach. Now that he has a huge win under his belt, will that help people jump back on the Fickell bandwagon?

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"I don't know about any bandwagon. Like I said, I see my four kids and my wife, we see the guys over at the facility and they've always been on my bandwagon. So those are the people that ultimately you stick close to," Fickell stated on Tuesday afternoon. 

"The bandwagon is our team. And to me the most important thing is to see the demeanor of the team, to see the excitement of the team, to see the emotion of the team. That's what you've got to continue to worry about...and that's why to me the biggest thing is not looking outside, not getting, worrying about the outside things, whether it's positive or negative, but to make sure we focus on ourselves, believe in one another and know how we got to this position right here, good and bad, so we can continue to move forward and get better."

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4. He Has Faith in the Freshmen

Coach Fickell has been both lauded and criticized for playing true freshmen, but he sticks to his beliefs.

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"You gotta play them. The more you can get them on the field, the better chance you have them of not being freshmen by the end of the year. It comes down to how you perform in November...I'm not going to accept them making freshmen mistakes-- they've been here long enough.

So the ability to get those guys on the field as soon as possible, as early as possible, whether it's just special teams, getting them the reps on defense or offense, during practice, I think is huge."

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3. He Attributes Success to the Players, Not the Personnel

Despite rumors circulating that the coaching personnel is not getting along, offensive coordinator Jim Bollman and Coach Fickell appeared to see eye-to-eye on Saturday night.

So who was responsible for the win over the Badgers? According to Fickell, the players themselves.

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"It's their ability to work. It's their ability to get to know each other. I mean, we just talked about it this morning that our punt team is getting better. I don't want to jinx them or anything but they're getting better because they've been working next to the same guy for probably the last six weeks in a row.

So it's not about any personnel truly getting back. It's just about the guys getting used to each other, you start to know, Jim and I have talked about it during the radio shows. if you're the right guard and you know what your right tackle is doing and how he does it, you just get a better feel for each other."

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2. He Doesn't Consider the Wisconsin Win Bigger Than Any Other Victory

Fans stormed the field. Players grabbed each other and wept. Coaching personnel beamed with pride.

The win over Wisconsin was considered the greatest win of the season; however, coach Fickell doesn't see it that way.

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"I don't know. Every win is big. The way it was won, obviously, maybe that might mean something different. The atmosphere it was won in. But still it goes down the same on the schedule, it goes down as a win. It's one win; we move on.

That's that same idea about how much energy do you waste, how much energy do you spend thinking about things that are selfish. And if you really don't worry about those things, you continue to focus on the team and the good things there, at some point in time, some day you'll have a chance to look back and reflect, but during the season that's not the time."

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1. His Season Expectations Are Grounded

When Coach Tressel had the reins, a Big Ten conference championship was practically a given.

Now, Ohio State is in the fight of their lives to take the crown and play in the conference championship game December 1.

Even though Fickell would love to see his players head to Indianapolis in December, he is keeping his expectations grounded. 

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"It doesn't change. I know at times obviously something's out there that's not attainable anymore. You break it down on national championship. Well, that's not quite the breakdown anymore.

But I think as you go into a season you've got an idea. And you want to keep those things in front of those guys, but you're always pushing them not just to reach one in particular goal. Obviously you set it as high as possible. But it's still a focus on yourselves how you get better. And we've obviously got a goal here to win the Big Ten every year...[but] the guys on the team are more aware to make sure we understand that we're not looking ahead of anything. We take care of our own business. We take care of the things we can control and good things will happen."

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