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Winners and Losers from Wisconsin's 41-13 loss to Notre Dame
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- Winners and Losers from Wisconsin's 41-13 loss to Notre Dame
Wisconsin Badgers punter Sean West. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Wisconsin football fought valiantly, but ultimately came apart against the loaded No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday night.
The Badgers came out of the gate hot and went toe-to-toe with Notre Dame for the first half. In the second half, the disparity between these two teams looked more like we thought it would .
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Badgers On SI has winners and losers from Wisconsin's Week 1 loss at Lambeau Field:
WINNERS
Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Malachi Coleman. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
WR Malachi Coleman
Sunday night, Coleman looked like he might have a shot to continue playing on Sundays in the near future. The 6-5 wideout lined up all over the formation and showed off some nasty stop-and-go moves, hauling in a 28-yard second quarter touchdown after absolutely snatching Notre Dame cornerback Jayden Sanders' ankles. He had a similar move on a big third-down conversion while lined up in the slot, and finished as the Badgers' leading receiver. Coleman needs starter-level snaps; he might be the most gifted player on this offense.
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OLB Sebastian Cheeks
Cheeks looks to have taken that jump the coaching staff publicly asked him to. He made his presence felt immediately, strip-sacking Irish quarterback CJ Carr on Notre Dame's first drive. He was a problem off both edges, and looks to have some of that high-end pass-rushing juice and get-off the Badgers need without Mason Reiger in the fold.
CB Bryce West
West looked excellent in the slot. He's just as advertised: fast, physical and instinctual. He notched two pass-breakups and looks like an instant upgrade at the nickel spot in Madison.
P Sean West
West connected on one of the most aesthetically pleasing punts of all time . Officially a 70-yard boot, he stepped into it from about the 20-yard line and dropped the ball inside the one. It hit on the seven before bouncing out of bounds just before the pylon at the front corner of the end zone. West could've had another ball downed inside the five as well, but his hands team couldn't finish the play.
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OLB Liam Danitz
How about Danitz with the Badgers' first big special teams play of 2026? That truly came out of nowhere, especially because the D-III transfer hardly made a peep in spring ball or fall camp. Still, his renowned speed was quite evident on his punt block as he flew into the backfield. That's a great spot to play him for the time being.
LOSERS
Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Colton Joseph. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
QB Colton Joseph
We don't need to overreact to Joseph's performance in his first game as a Badger against what could very well be the best defense in the country. But his first act in the Cardinal and White wasn't great. I like the fight he showed, and he made a couple of very nice throws, none prettier than his aforementioned touchdown to Coleman. But his pick-six was absolutely back-breaking and far too reminiscent of Wisconsin's recent erratic quarterback play. I saw good and bad from Joseph, but the pick-six to go down 27-10 when the game felt like it was hanging in balance was absolutely the dagger.
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RB Harrison Bortolotti
With no disrespect intended to Bortolotti, putting him at kick returner is certainly a choice. He doesn't have a single career catch or carry, and he's fielding kickoffs under the lights at Lambeau Field against the No. 4 team in the country? His muffed kickoff set up an easy Irish touchdown.
LB Jon Jon Kamara
Before we get official snap counts, I certainly didn't see the Kansas transfer linebacker Kamara on the field all that much. He didn't log a single statistic. But on the Irish's final touchdown, a 28-yard catch-and-run by tailback Nolan James Jr, he lost him out of the backfield (getting completely turned around in the process) and then missed the tackle.
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DC Mike Tressel
If I had the film on hand immediately, more specific defenders would make this list. But what happened to Tressel's defense in the second half? Carr eventually settled in and shredded the soft zone he insists on running, and Wisconsin's defense offered no resistance in third and fourth quarters. Notre Dame had three drives in the second half, all of which resulted in touchdowns. The Badgers couldn't scheme up pressure on Carr outside of their outside linebackers winning one-on-ones. An extremely inspiring first half quickly devolved into a bloodbath for the Badgers' defense. That's very alarming.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/wisconsin as Winners and Losers from Wisconsin's 41-13 loss to Notre Dame .
