Luke Fickell is in a make or break year in Madison. (Photo: Icon Sportswire)
THE QUICK READ
Head Coach: Luke Fickell — 4th season
2025 Record: 4-8
Series History: Notre Dame leads 9-6-2
Last Meeting: Notre Dame 41, Wisconsin 13 — 2021, Soldier Field
Best Offensive Weapon: QB Colton Joseph
Defensive Player to Know: LB Mason Posa
Biggest Question: Who exactly will Wisconsin have available along the offensive line — and can that group hold up against Notre Dame?
Few coaches enter 2026 under more pressure than Luke Fickell. Wisconsin went 4-8 last season, another major disappointment for a program that once seemed almost automatic for eight or nine wins. More concerning was how it happened: the Badgers haven’t looked much like the physical, fundamentally sound Wisconsin teams we became accustomed to seeing for decades.
So Fickell essentially rebuilt the roster. Wisconsin brought in more than 30 transfers since January and enters the season with more than 50 new players overall. The Badgers should be better in 2026. The question is how much better.
OFFENSE: EVERYTHING STARTS WITH COLTON JOSEPH
Colton Joseph may well be the most important player on Wisconsin’s roster. The Old Dominion transfer threw for 2,624 yards and 21 touchdowns last season while rushing for 1,007 yards and 13 more scores. He averaged more than 300 yards of total offense per game and was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year.
Joseph has a good arm and can push the football downfield, but his legs are what make him particularly dangerous. His mobility fits offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes’ offense and gives Wisconsin something it hasn’t had during Fickell’s first three seasons.
The Power Four already has a little history with Joseph. In Old Dominion’s 2025 opener at Indiana, he ran for 179 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 carries. That’s the danger. Notre Dame cannot allow him to turn broken plays into big plays.
Joseph is making a significant jump in competition, however, and his first assignment comes against an Irish defense loaded with speed. If Notre Dame keeps him in the pocket and forces him to consistently beat the secondary with his arm, the advantage swings heavily toward the Irish.
RUNNING GAME: SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE
Ron Dayne. Jonathan Taylor. Melvin Gordon. Montee Ball.
And Wisconsin still wants to run the football. Some things never change.
This year’s backfield is led by Iowa State transfer Abu Sama III, who emerged from fall camp as Wisconsin’s No. 1 back. Darrion Dupree, last year’s leading rusher, gives the Badgers another experienced option.
Add Joseph to the equation and Notre Dame won’t simply be defending the running backs. His ability to keep the football gives Wisconsin another way to attack the edge, forces defenders to account for the quarterback and could help the Badgers shorten the game.
But all of it depends on an offensive line that enters the opener with some significant questions.
OFFENSIVE LINE: A MAJOR QUESTION
Wisconsin lost three starters up front and then spent much of fall camp dealing with injuries to two projected starters on the right side.
Projected right guard Emerson Mandell underwent offseason foot surgery and missed camp, while projected right tackle Kevin Heywood was injured on the second day of camp. Both have recently returned to some practice work, but Fickell has indicated their availability against Notre Dame may not be determined until close to game time.
That forced Wisconsin to shuffle personnel throughout camp. Stylz Blackmon and Blake Cherry have received work at right guard, while Lucas Simmons-Johansson has taken significant snaps at right tackle. There is some experience elsewhere, including Oklahoma State transfer Austin Kawecki and Ole Miss transfer PJ Wilkins, but this is a group that has had limited time together.
That’s not an ideal situation when your first assignment comes against what should be one of Notre Dame’s deepest and most talented defensive fronts. For all the attention Joseph will receive, this may ultimately be where the game is decided.
PASSING GAME: WHO STEPS UP?
Wisconsin doesn’t have an established No. 1 receiver, but Joseph does have options. Chris Brooks Jr. and Eugene Hilton Jr. return, while newcomers Shamar Rigby and Jacob Harris give the Badgers additional targets. Hilton — the son of former Indianapolis Colts star T.Y. Hilton — remains an intriguing young receiver at 6-foot-2.
Joseph reportedly developed a good rapport with Rigby and Harris during fall camp, and his arrival could make this entire group better. Still, this looks like another matchup that favors Notre Dame. If the Irish can generate pressure without committing extra defenders, Wisconsin’s receivers will have to consistently win against one of the nation’s most talented secondaries.
DEFENSE: START WITH THE LINEBACKERS
Don’t overlook Wisconsin’s defense. The strength begins at linebacker with Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano, two young players who emerged as bright spots during an otherwise difficult 2025 season.
Posa brings speed, athleticism and playmaking ability and has the potential to become one of the Big Ten’s best linebackers. Catalano diagnoses plays quickly, tackles with authority and has improved in coverage. Despite their youth, they’ve already developed into two of the leaders of this Wisconsin team.
There are other pieces worth watching. Arizona State transfer Javan Robinson gives Wisconsin an experienced cornerback, while Sebastian Cheeks provides pass-rush ability from outside linebacker.
If Wisconsin is going to make this uncomfortable for Notre Dame, this side of the football probably has to do it. The Badgers need to make CJ Carr uncomfortable, limit Notre Dame’s new-look running game and avoid allowing explosive plays. Do that, and they may be able to shorten the game and give Joseph a chance to make something happen.
THE GREAT UNKNOWN
This may be the most intriguing part of Wisconsin entering the opener: we really don’t know exactly what Notre Dame is going to see.
There are more than 50 new players on the Wisconsin roster, with a new quarterback, a new starting running back, new receivers and transfers scattered throughout the defense. Add the offensive-line injuries and unresolved position battles, and this is a difficult team to evaluate before it has played a game.
Then Wisconsin added a little more intrigue by not releasing a depth chart for the opener. The school’s explanation was that its in-season depth charts are based upon usage in the previous game, and there obviously hasn’t been one. The decision reportedly came from the sports information side rather than Fickell’s coaching staff.
Maybe that’s simply a procedural decision. Maybe there’s a little gamesmanship involved. Either way, it’s unusual, particularly since Wisconsin released a Week 1 depth chart last season.
None of this makes Wisconsin better than Notre Dame. It just makes the Badgers a little harder to prepare for.
THE PLAYER WHO CAN CHANGE THE GAME
It’s Colton Joseph. Notre Dame should have advantages at most positions, but a quarterback who can run changes the mathematics of a defense.
Joseph doesn’t necessarily have to throw for 300 yards to cause problems. A few third-down scrambles, one long designed run or an escape from what should have been a sack can change a possession and potentially keep an underdog hanging around.
Notre Dame’s assignment is straightforward: keep Joseph contained, make him work from the pocket and force Wisconsin to sustain drives against an Irish defense that should have the advantage almost everywhere else.
THE MATCHUP THAT MATTERS
Wisconsin’s offensive line vs. Notre Dame’s defensive front.
Wisconsin wants to run the football, and Joseph is at his best when his mobility creates additional problems for a defense. Both become much harder to accomplish if the Badgers can’t control the line of scrimmage, particularly if they enter the opener with two projected offensive-line starters either unavailable or less than 100 percent.
Notre Dame doesn’t need to chase Joseph all over Lambeau Field. The Irish need to collapse the pocket while maintaining discipline on the edges. Make Wisconsin’s offensive line protect, make Joseph throw from the pocket and make the Badgers put together long drives.
This is where Notre Dame should take control of the game.
THE FIP BOTTOM LINE
Wisconsin’s path to an upset is fairly clear: play defense, run the football, shorten the game and let Joseph create something with his legs. If the Badgers can frustrate Carr, avoid turnovers and get this game into the fourth quarter, things could become interesting.
But that’s asking Wisconsin to do a lot against a Notre Dame team with superior talent and depth.
The setting will be spectacular. Notre Dame and Wisconsin finally meet Sunday night at Lambeau Field, six years after the game was originally scheduled. Notre Dame is officially the home team in the Shamrock Series matchup, and don’t be surprised if Green Bay feels a bit more like South Bend than Madison.
Wisconsin should be better than last year’s 4-8 team, and with more than 50 new players, it will certainly be a very different one. But Notre Dame has more talent, more depth and more proven playmakers. Control the line of scrimmage, contain Joseph and don’t give Wisconsin cheap points, and the Badgers simply don’t appear to have enough offensive firepower to keep pace.
Different? Absolutely. Ready to beat Notre Dame? I don’t see it.
FIP PREDICTION
VEGAS LINE: Notre Dame -20.5 | O/U 47.5