Notre Dame vs Wisconsin Prediction: Odds, expert picks, team and player news, betting trends, and stats

Notre Dame and Wisconsin start their season at Lambeau Field on Sunday night. The Fighting Irish were left out for the College Football Playoff with a 10-2 record last year after starting 0-2, then winning 10 straight. Wisconsin was on the other end of the spectrum, winning their first two games, then losing eight of the next 10.

The Fighting Irish are ranked fourth in the AP Poll to start the season. CJ Carr leads the way at quarterback after a fantastic true freshman year of 27 total touchdowns to six interceptions. Notre Dame has to replace one of the best running back duos college football has seen over the last decade. The Irish ranked 17th with 203.4 rushing yards per game and were tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns with 38. How Notre Dame replaces Jeremiyah Love (Arizona Cardinals) and Jadraian Price's (Seattle Seahawks) production will be the biggest challenge, but the offensive line and defense are top tier units once again.

Wisconsin is coming off back-to-back losing seasons of 5-7 and 4-8. This offseason was spent adding experience. Wisconsin brought in four offensive lineman with two starters back, and added three running backs from Iowa State, USC, and TCU. The biggest transfer for this team will be the quarterback position. Colton Joseph comes from Old Dominion after a monster season for the Monarchs. Joseph threw for 2,624 yards and 21 touchdowns, plus he ran for 1,007 yards and 13 scores.

Let’s dive into the schools on both sides of the ball, look at a few key players, and see where the numbers take us.

Game Details and How to Watch Wisconsin vs Notre Dame

• Date: Sunday, September 6, 2026
• Time: 7:30 PM Eastern
• Site: Lambeu Field
• City: Green Bay, WI
• TV/Streaming: Peacock

Game Odds for Wisconsin vs Notre Dame

The latest odds as of Monday courtesy of DraftKings:

• Moneyline: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-1800), Wisconsin Badgers (+1000)
• Spread: Notre Dame -20.5 (-108)
• Total: 47.5 points

Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the college football schedule!

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Head Coach: Marcus Freeman
2025 Record: 10-2
Offensive Points Per Game: 41.8 (3rd)
Defensive Points Per Game: 17.5 (11th)
2025 Strength of Schedule: 47th
2026 Strength of Schedule: 57th

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish Offense:

Notre Dame will have to find production in a backfield that looked unstoppable down the stretch. The Irish ranked 17th nationally with 203.4 rushing yards per game and were tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns with 38 in 2025. The offensive line is regarded as a top five unit across the country by plenty of analysts, and have some day one and day two projected NFL picks, so whoever gets the rock will have a lane to run through — and CJ Carr will be protected. Carr, alongside Miami's Malachi Toney, was the two best true freshman in the country last season. Carr has real hype and Heisman potential thanks to a soft schedule that figures to have Notre Dame favored in every single game.

Notre Dame Player to Watch on Offense: QB CJ Carr

CJ Carr had a 66.6 completion percentage with 2,741 yards, and 24 touchdowns to six interceptions as a true freshman. In the two losses to Miami and Texas A&M, Carr had three passing touchdowns, one rushing score, two interceptions, and 514 passing yards on a 62.9 completion percentage. There wasn't one game where you would say Carr was terrible. In his first season, Carr's composure, accuracy, and ability to limit turnovers points him in the echelon of Heisman hopefuls.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish Defense:

Notre Dame has a chance to have the best defense in the country this season. On all three levels, they have NFL talent and most of their talent back. The Irish return seven of their top eight players from the secondary and are one of the deepest defensive backfields in the country. Notre Dame brought back five of the top six linebackers and to fill the loss of six defensive lineman, Notre Dame added three P4 transfers. After the first three games in 2025, Notre Dame held opponents to 24 or less in every game and 15 or fewer points in seven of the next 10. They could be even better in 2026.

Notre Dame Player to Watch on Defense: DB Brauntae Johnson

Brauntae Johnson is the fourth-leading tackler (48) back on this defense and ranked second in interceptions (4). The Indiana native had two interceptions against Boston College and also picked off Boise State and Pitt last season. Johnson totaled seven games of five or more tackles and hit five-plus tackles in six of the last seven games. He's projected to be a first round pick before the season starts.

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Wisconsin Badgers

Head Coach: Luke Fickell
2025 Record: 4-8 (2-7)
Offensive Points Per Game: 12.8 (133rd)
Defensive Points Per Game: 21.5 (39th)
2025 Strength of Schedule: 1st
2026 Strength of Schedule: 40th

The Wisconsin Badgers Offense:

The Wisconsin offense ranked second-worst in all of the country with 12.8 points per game last year ahead of only Mass (11.1). You basically can't get any worse and it's easy to say the Badgers will improve, but anything less than 21 points per game is still a major work in progress. Wisconsin was shutout twice last year, held to 10 or fewer points in seven games, and their season-high in P4 play was 27 against Illinois — which was the only P4 game Wisconsin scored more than 14 points. The Badgers also played the toughest schedule in the country last year, so this season should point up.

Wisconsin Player to Watch on Offense: QB Colton Joseph

After two successful seasons at Old Dominion, Colton Joseph finds himself as the starting quarterback at Wisconsin for his junior season. Joseph recorded 32 passing touchdowns and 24 rushing touchdowns (56 total) to 15 interceptions with the Monarchs. Joseph threw for 4,251 yards and ran for 1,654 yards (5,905) in the two seasons. Joseph could be the best quarterback the Badgers have had since 2019 at the least and maybe the second-best since 2011 (Russell Wilson is the GOAT).

The Wisconsin Badgers Defense:

The only thing that kept Wisconsin in games last year was the defense. The Badgers held Oregon to 21, Michigan to 24, Washington to 13, and Illinois to 10, as some of the season highlights. Of course, Alabama put up 38, Ohio State 34, and Indiana 31 on Wisconsin. Wisconsin upgraded its defense in a lot of ways almost doubling their sack total from 2024 to 2025 (17 to 32), but have still also struggled mightily in some areas, like forcing interceptions or turnovers with only nine picks in the last two seasons (13 in 2013 alone).

Wisconsin Player to Watch on Defense: LB Mason Posa

Mason Posa returns to Wisconsin as the leading tackler of the 2025 team. The Badgers backer registered 58 tackles, 4.0 sacks, two forces fumbles, and one recovered. In the first five games of the season, Posa had eight tackles, but over the last six games, Posa skyrocketed to 50 tackles with more playing time. If Posa is on the level of nine-plus tackles like he was in four of the past six, then he has a chance to make an All Big Ten team.

Wisconsin and Notre Dame Team Stats, Betting Trends

• Notre Dame went 6-6 ATS last season
• Wisconsin went 6-6 ATS last season
• Notre Dame went 7-5 to the Over last season
• Wisconsin went 10-2 to the Under last season, ranking tied for an NCAA-best
• Wisconsin went 5-3 ATS as an underdog last year
• Wisconsin went 7-1 to the Under as an underdog last year

Rotoworld Best Bets

Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) leans the Under 47.5 points between Notre Dame and Wisconsin:

"One thing about both of these teams, they will have stacked defenses. Notre Dame will compete with Ohio State, Georgia, Texas Tech, and Indiana for the best defense in the country this year and for Wisconsin, well, defense was all they had last season.

Colton Joseph could end up being a winner at Wisconsin, but if we're judging this team on its quarterback play in the last decade, there has been basically no difference makers. I can't trust the Wisconsin offense, but I can trust the Wisconsin defense, along with the Notre Dame defense. The Irish's offense will have to establish a ground game early, but that will likely be the focal point. I see both teams running the ball into the ground and Notre Dame not going for a blowout style win because they don't have to impress the committee — yet, that comes at BYU and versus Miami. I see a snoozer — Notre Dame 30, Wisconsin 13."

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