Know your foe Wisconsin: Inside look at Notre Dame’s Week 1 opponent

Know your foe Wisconsin: Inside look at Notre Dame’s Week 1 opponent

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Know your foe Wisconsin: Inside look at Notre Dame’s Week 1 opponent

The long wait to see Notre Dame football back on the field will end on Sunday, as the 2026 season opener is set to kickoff.

The Irish will start the year off with the Shamrock Series game against Wisconsin in Lambeau Field, a defacto home game for either team. Both will be wearing alternate uniforms, and anytime Notre Dame plays a team in the Big Ten there’s a different feeling to it.

There plenty of drama on the sidelines as well, as Irish head coach Marcus Freeman and Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell have a long history together, spanning over 20-years. To get an inside look at the Irish’s opponent, we went to our sister site, BadgersWire.com’s site lead Jordon Lawrenz for exactly that. Find out what he said about the matchup below.

How hot is Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell’s seat?

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell is shown during football practice Thursday, August 6, 2026 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

Fickell has a really, really strong recruiting class coming in next year. He seems to be finding his stride (finally), but obviously, results matter. With a new athletic director in town, I don’t see a world where Fickell is fired during the middle of the season unless absolutely everything goes wrong.

How good is Wisconsin quarterback Colton Joseph?

Sep 13, 2025; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Old Dominion Monarchs quarterback Colton Joseph (1) runs the ball as Virginia Tech Hokies cornerback Isaiah Brown-Murray (9) pursues during the third quarter at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

Joseph’s dual-threat abilities are going to be something to watch this season. I don’t want to compare him to Iowa’s Mark Gronkowski from a year ago because I believe that Joseph has a better arm, but I truly think he can take the nation by storm this season.

Does Notre Dame playing a “home” game at Lambeau Field give Wisconsin an advantage?

Aug 28, 2026; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers punter Daniel Whelan (19) during the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

100%. It’s not a normal neutral site game. There are Badgers fans all over the state, and they haven’t forgotten about upsetting LSU at Lambeau even though it was 10 years ago. It will be interesting to see which fan base shows out.

Is Wisconsin roster turnover an issue against Notre Dame?

Iowa State Cyclones' running back Abu Sama III (24) runs with the ball for a touchdown against South Dakota during the first quarter in the home game opening at Jack Trice Stadium on August 30, 2025, in Ames, Iowa

This will be a tough opener for a ton of reasons, but there’s a lot to love about the transfers UW brought in over the offseason. Fickell said it best, Wisconsin would have loved a “tune up” style game before this but it’s sink or swim time and we’ll see what happens. However, I think it ends up as Notre Dame besting Wisconsin 31-13.

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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Know your foe Wisconsin: Inside look at Notre Dame’s Week 1 opponent

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