Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin
Sunday, September 6th
The Fighting Irish and Badgers meet at Lambeau Field on Sunday night in one of the most anticipated matchups of the first full weekend of college football. This is just the second time the teams have played in the past 62 years, with Notre Dame having won the most recent matchup 41-13 back in 2021 despite having Brian Kelly as their head coach at the time.
SADISON
Wisconsin’s 22-year streak of bowl game appearances came to end with the 2024 season and they have now gone back-to-back years without a postseason appearance for the first time since the early 90’s. Oddsmakers have clearly noticed the decline, as after being underdogs only five times from 2019 through 2023 (Ohio State was four of the games) they have since been getting points in eight games in each of the past two seasons. This hasn’t boded well for a team that also since 2019, has been favored in 42 of their 45 victories. At least there is some hope this year thanks to a Big 10 schedule that avoids Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, Michigan and Washington.
BOLTON COLTON
For the fifth straight season the Badgers open the year with a different starter at quarterback thanks to the addition of dual-threat Colton Joseph. The ODU transfer is coming off a season in which he earned Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year honors and will be put to the test early in his new surroundings against a Notre Dame defense that ranks as arguably the best in the country. They return seven of eight starters, including star cornerback Leonard Moore, from a defensive backfield that tied for first overall in interceptions per game, which was a particular issue for Joseph last season as he had multiple turnovers through the air in all three of his teams’ losses. He will need to get relief from the running game to take some of the early pressure off, which also used the portal to add more talent.
ABU, ME AND DUPREE
Senior transfer Abu Sama heads the Badger backfield coming into 2026 after transferring in from Iowa State, and is expected to get the first shot as starter. He is far from the only option, with last’s year leading rusher Darrion Dupree and transfers Bryan Jackson (USC) and Nate Palmer (TCU) all looking to make the best of whatever opportunities they get, and there is plenty of room for improvement for a running game coming of a season in which not a single player had more than two rushing touchdowns or at least 400 yards on the ground. The four of them will be in for a test against a stout Irish defense but will be a vital part of the Wisconsin offensive game plan that will be all about controlling the game flow and using up as much clock as possible on each drive.
RECEIVER RE-UP
Along with adapting to new faces at quarterback and running back, the Badgers air targets will look much different on the field thanks to losing their top four in receiving yards from 2025. The team brought in seven receivers through the transfer portal along with expected starter at tight end Jacob Harris, and there some be plenty of chances for the new faces to make a name for themselves along with returning wideouts Chris Brooks, Jaylon Domingeaux and Tyrell Henry, with the latter the only player returning who has had a receiving touchdown for the Badgers. All of them are in for a massive test against an Irish team with an enormous chip on their shoulder after erroneously being left out of the BCS Playoffs a season ago.
ECHOES STIRRED
Notre Dame is set up well for a run at the BCS Playoffs, with head coach Marcus Freeman stressing the need to stay focused on the game at hand rather than looking ahead toward the postseason. It’s easy to see why the players would do so, considering the Irish have only four true road games and face just five teams that are expected to be bowl eligible (Wisconsin, at BYU, Navy at Foxboro Stadium, home in November against Miami and SMU). And the fact that there is a new rule this season that Notre Dame finishes the regular season ranked in the top 12 they are guaranteed a playoff spot only further adds to the thought they are a near lock for the playoffs in 2026.
EXPECTATIONS
Irish quarterback CJ Carr enters the season as the favorite to win the Heisman trophy, which since the turn of the century hasn’t gone very well in South Bend with Brady Quinn and Ron Powlus both having high expectations coming into the year and only Quinn coming to close to reaching them (he finished in the top four in voting twice). Jimmy Clausen had a nice mid-season run at the award in 2009 before the Charlie Weis albatross became too much for the team to overcome and they finished the year in 6-6 mediocrity.
Carr is lined up well to succeed against the previously mentioned mostly light schedule and should be able to improve on his ’25 stats (24 touchdown passes compared to six interceptions) and battle Arch Manning of Texas and Dante Moore of Oregon for the first player chosen in next seasons’ NFL Draft. It will further help with the expected emphasis now on the Irish passing game due to the losses of star running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, and that starts against Wisconsin considering their strength is at linebacker (Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano) and biggest weakness is in the defensive backfield.
LOVE LOSS
Replacing two running backs that both went in the first round of the draft is never easy, but considering Freeman’s ability to recruit the backfield cupboard is certainly not bare in South Bend. Aneyas Williams steps into the starting role after averaging an impressive 9.1 yards per carry in five games played for the Irish in a backup role last season. Two players behind him are expected to get carries as well in week one, with red shirt freshman Nolan James continuing to impress in August camp and sophomore wrecking ball Kedren Young primed to take advantage of goal line chances. Any one of them could differentiate themselves from the rest with a consistent ability to also catch passes out of the backfield as a safety net for CJ Carr and chain-moving option in game planning against the strong middle of the Wisconsin defense.
PASS THE J
Through the air the Irish have some familiar faces thanks to the return of last years’ leading receiver Jordan Faison and coming off an injury ruined season Jaden Greathouse. Micah Gilbert is back as well and will settle into the third wide receiver spot, with hopes that Ohio State transfer Quincy Porter will return sooner than later from nagging injury issues to join Jerome Betis Jr. Matt Jeffery and Myles Graham as further potential targets in the passing game along with differently spelled tight ends Cooper Flanagan and James Flanigan.
PICK ME A WINNER
The last time Wisconsin won as a non-conference road underdog was 10 years against LSU, also in a season opener at Lambeau Field. The similarities stop there though, as that Badger team was in the midst of a four year run of double-digit wins and three appearances in the Big Ten title game, while this one hasn’t really been great against anyone of late, going 2-12 straight up in their last 14 conference games, 1-5 against the spread in their last six non-conference matchups and 4-13 overall in their last seventeen games against anybody.
Now they come into an opening week matchup against a Notre Dame team with nine months of built-up anger ready to unleash on whoever stands in their way of a BCS playoff berth. The Irish are far more experienced and have shown a consistent ability to win and cover in similar circumstances (27-1 straight up in their last 28 against unranked opponents and against the spread records of 15-7-1 in last 23 as a double-digit favorite and 27-8-2 in their last 37 against a Power Four conference team). They have also consistently won and covered in neutral site games under Marcus Freeman with records of 10-1 straight and 9-2 against the spread in their last 11, while Wisconsin is in the midst of a seven-game losing streak in games away from Madison. Most importantly for bettors, the Irish cover when they win, having gone 21-2-1 against the spread in their last 24 victories.
Wisconsin may get an early boost playing in their home state in front of a sellout crowd, but by games end the fact that Notre Dame is far more experienced and especially talented will be too much for the Badgers to overcome. Count on the Irish to start their 2026 with a win and cover at Lambeau.
PICK: NOTRE DAME -20
