Wisconsin Could Be Notre Dame's Most Improved Opponent In 2026
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When you look at Notre Dame's schedule, there's some obvious teams at the top that stick out. They travel out to Provo, Utah in October to take on BYU, they host Miami on November 7th and host the SMU Mustangs on Senior Day. The Irish also take on Navy on the road this season as well the week before they play the Hurricanes at home.
The other eight teams on the schedule are up for debate as to how good they'll be. Could Purdue make the jump in year two under Barry Odom? How improved will Syracuse be with the return of quarterback Steve Angeli? All are valid questions, but the team I have my eye on as the most improved are the Wisconsin Badgers.
The last two seasons, Wisconsin has gone 9-15 under head coach Luke Fickell. Back to back seasons of not being bowl eligible is not a place to be in Madison which means this is a big year for Fickell and the Badgers. They're due for a turnaround, and some of that is the makeup of their schedule. It's no walk in the park by any means, but it doesn't compare to what they've had to face the last two seasons.
In 2024, they had to play Alabama at home, USC on the road, Penn State at home, Iowa on the road and Oregon on the road. Last season, they played Alabama on the road, Michigan on the road, Iowa at home, Ohio State at home, Oregon on the road, Washington at home, Indiana on the road and Illinois at home. This year, there's no Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, Alabama or Indiana on their schedule.
They do still have road games at Penn State and Iowa and home games against USC and Minnesota but their schedule is much easier than the last two seasons outside of playing Notre Dame in week one. But the biggest reason I'm high on Wisconsin this season is their portal acquisitions this offseason and it starts with who they added on the offensive side of the ball. Last year, Wisconsin ranked No. 135 in the country in points per game and yards per play. I don't see that being the case this season.
Let's start with the quarterback position. They brought in Old Dominion transfer Colton Joseph who had a really good season last year for the Monarchs. He passed for 2.624 yards, completed 59.7% of his passes, threw 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Joseph is a dual threat quarterback and added 1,007 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. He's also faced really good competition. In week on of the 2025 season, he faced the Hoosiers on the road and rushed for 179 yards and two scores.
Wisconsin also added two running backs in the portal with Bryan Jackson coming over from USC and Abu Sama III coming over from Iowa State. Sama rushed for 732 yards and five touchdowns last season while Jackson rushed for 123 yards and four touchdowns last season for the Trojans prior to injury. Those two big, powerful backs compliment Joseph's dual-threat skillset very well and will help Wisconsin get back to their identity establishing the ground game.
They also return wide receiver Vinny Anthony II who was the team's second leading receiver and the No. 1 pass catcher in the wide receiver room. In 2025, he caught 31 passes for 391 yards, averaged 12.6 yards per catch and had one touchdown. Tight end Lance Mason also returns who led the team overall in receiving with 30 receptions, 398 yards and four touchdowns.
They also return their starting right guard and right tackle from last season. They're using the portal to supplement the losses at left tackle, left guard and center but are bringing in solid players like Austin Kawecki from Oklahoma State and Lucas Simmons from Florida State.
Defensively, they return six starters led by linebacker Mason Posa who led the team in tackles last season with 58. They also return three starters on the defensive line with Darryl Peterson, Aaron Witt and Ben Barten all coming back to Madison. Safety Matt Jung also returns to help solidify a back end made up of mostly portal players, but the portal additions are talented. Wisconsin brought in Carson Van Dinter from Iowa State at safety and cornerback Bryce West from Ohio State. They also brought in defensive end Justus Boone from Arkansas who Notre Dame faced last season in Fayetteville.
Will the Badgers be a playoff team in 2026? No, but I do think they'll be the most improved team on Notre Dame's schedule this fall. It's shaping up to be a perfect storm in Madison for Coach Fickell. They're schedule is lighter compared to the last two seasons and the talent they've brought in is solid and proven to varying degrees.
They won't get the respect in week one when the Irish play them at Lambeau Field, but we could look back and talk about the Irish picking up a quality win in week one against a bowl-eligible Wisconsin team.
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