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The Wisconsin Badgers are going to be facing one of their toughest opponents all season long this weekend when they take on the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Lambeau Field.

While Wisconsin has been going through a ton of roster changes this offseason, Notre Dame has stayed fairly stagnant, retaining a ton of key players while only adding seven transfers. The Fighting Irish are set to return one of the top defenses in the country, backed by a strong defensive line and some quality linebacker play.

In the secondary, Wisconsin will face its toughest challenge all season long as well, as projected top-10 pick Leonard Moore is back at cornerback for the Fighting Irish. Moore was a unanimous All-American this past season, while being named a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the top defensive back in the nation.

He was also a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award, given to the nation’s best defensive player, and was a Freshman All-American as a true freshman in 2024.

Moore has faced some of the top competition in the country and excelled. In 2025, he had five interceptions and seven pass breakups after recording two interceptions and 11 pass breakups as a true freshman. Now, he faces a rebuilding Badgers offense that will have a ton of new pieces hit the field on Sunday. As Wisconsin tries to get its offense on track, will they look to avoid Moore?

“We’ve got to not just think that we can’t go that direction,” head coach Luke Fickell acknowledged. “I’m not saying he’s not the best in the country. I’m not saying he’s not a top 2, 3 pick in the country. But the idea is you still got to be able to run your offense. And I think the thing that I love about what it is that we do is we make people do everything.

“And, so, he’ll have a chance to prove that he’s the best in the country, not just in the way he covers but also in the way that he maybe sets some edges and maybe the way that he has to fit in on some ability to tackles and things like that.”

That might be a bold statement to say against one of the best cornerbacks in the country, but it makes sense from a structural standpoint for the Badgers. Wisconsin is testing out its new-look offense for the first time against a new opponent. Handcuffing themselves would only make the challenge more difficult, and they have to accept the results that come with it.

“Again, that’s a part of being smart, but that’s also a part of saying, hey, look, Game 1, man, we’ve got to be able to run our offense,” Fickell added. “This is a challenge not only to the entire offense, it’s a challenge to the wideouts. I mean, everybody’s got the goal and the dream to play at the next level. Well, I tell you what, you’re going to go out there and you’re going to face not just in particular there at the corner position, but you’re going to face a lot of NFL players.

“And there’s no better way for us to measure ourselves individually against the best or, again, closing that gap as it is as a team. And so, I think that there’s a part of being smart, but there’s also a part of challenging ourselves. And there’s some adjustments that will have to be made throughout the entire game. But I’m interested to see how that matchup continues to go and how our guys take the challenge and run with it.”

Wisconsin’s wide receiver room is largely unproven heading into the 2026 season. They’ll get a daunting challenge off the bat, and the offense needs them to win some of those matchups for Colton Joseph to build consistency.

Against such a sharp defense with a good number of returners, the Badgers may very well face some growing pains here in Week 1. But they won’t look to limit their offense, even against one of the top corners in the nation.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

The Wisconsin Badgers are going to be facing one of their toughest opponents all season long this weekend when they take on the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Lambeau Field.

While Wisconsin has been going through a ton of roster changes this offseason, Notre Dame has stayed fairly stagnant, retaining a ton of key players while only adding seven transfers. The Fighting Irish are set to return one of the top defenses in the country, backed by a strong defensive line and some quality linebacker play.

In the secondary, Wisconsin will face its toughest challenge all season long as well, as projected top-10 pick Leonard Moore is back at cornerback for the Fighting Irish. Moore was a unanimous All-American this past season, while being named a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the top defensive back in the nation.

He was also a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award, given to the nation’s best defensive player, and was a Freshman All-American as a true freshman in 2024.

Moore has faced some of the top competition in the country and excelled. In 2025, he had five interceptions and seven pass breakups after recording two interceptions and 11 pass breakups as a true freshman. Now, he faces a rebuilding Badgers offense that will have a ton of new pieces hit the field on Sunday. As Wisconsin tries to get its offense on track, will they look to avoid Moore?

“We’ve got to not just think that we can’t go that direction,” head coach Luke Fickell acknowledged. “I’m not saying he’s not the best in the country. I’m not saying he’s not a top 2, 3 pick in the country. But the idea is you still got to be able to run your offense. And I think the thing that I love about what it is that we do is we make people do everything.

“And, so, he’ll have a chance to prove that he’s the best in the country, not just in the way he covers but also in the way that he maybe sets some edges and maybe the way that he has to fit in on some ability to tackles and things like that.”

That might be a bold statement to say against one of the best cornerbacks in the country, but it makes sense from a structural standpoint for the Badgers. Wisconsin is testing out its new-look offense for the first time against a new opponent. Handcuffing themselves would only make the challenge more difficult, and they have to accept the results that come with it.

“Again, that’s a part of being smart, but that’s also a part of saying, hey, look, Game 1, man, we’ve got to be able to run our offense,” Fickell added. “This is a challenge not only to the entire offense, it’s a challenge to the wideouts. I mean, everybody’s got the goal and the dream to play at the next level. Well, I tell you what, you’re going to go out there and you’re going to face not just in particular there at the corner position, but you’re going to face a lot of NFL players.

“And there’s no better way for us to measure ourselves individually against the best or, again, closing that gap as it is as a team. And so, I think that there’s a part of being smart, but there’s also a part of challenging ourselves. And there’s some adjustments that will have to be made throughout the entire game. But I’m interested to see how that matchup continues to go and how our guys take the challenge and run with it.”

Wisconsin’s wide receiver room is largely unproven heading into the 2026 season. They’ll get a daunting challenge off the bat, and the offense needs them to win some of those matchups for Colton Joseph to build consistency.

Against such a sharp defense with a good number of returners, the Badgers may very well face some growing pains here in Week 1. But they won’t look to limit their offense, even against one of the top corners in the nation.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos