Notre Dame Needs To Make A HUGE Statement Against Wisconsin...
The Fighting Irish have experienced frustrating starts under Marcus Freeman, and Ryan doesn't want to see another slow opening against Wisconsin. Notre Dame enters the season with national championship expectations, while Wisconsin is trying to establish itself under head coach Luke Fickell. Ryan believes the Irish need to come out with energy, physicality and urgency and establish control early.
Video Transcript
Notre Dame football and head coach Marcus Freeman kick off their twenty twenty-six college football season this weekend at Lambeau Field against the Wisconsin Badgers.
And while we're gonna talk a lot about the Wisconsin team, the players, the coaches, and everything else you need to know about this Badgers program right now, I do wanna make sure that we understand this game is more about Notre Dame than it is about Wisconsin.
Let's talk about the things that I wanna see for the Fighting Irish in the season opener.
Breaking down.
What's up, everybody?
Ryan Roberts from A to Z Sports, breaking down everything Notre Dame football.
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As we kick off the twenty twenty-six college football season, we will have coverage from here until the very end, obviously kicking off with Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers traveling to Lambeau Field this weekend.
And I talked about in a previous video, some of the Wisconsin Badgers to keep a close eye on, both offensively and defensively.
Make sure to go look back at that video, but I do wanna, again, go back to the main point of the opening in this conversation.
While Wisconsin is a tricky team, and they are not to be overlooked, this game is about Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish.
This will be determine, one, how you set the tone for the twenty twenty-six year, but also, you've spent all offseason after the playoff ending with not getting into the field and then opting out of the Pop Tarts Bowl.
You have be- acted as if you are pissed off all offseason.
You've had a long offseason, a long r- runway of development, so I expect Notre Dame to be laser-focused.
So here are some of the things I wanna see from this Fighting Irish program, and it starts, number one, and this comes from up top, we gotta fa- start fast.
You know, if you listened to me when I was at Irish Breakdown with Brian Driscoll, you know we talked about this almost every game, and it was always a constant problem on the previous staff, and more importantly, under Coach Freeman over the last few years.
Wanna see fast starts, and that comes, one, in football games, but also in the starts of seasons.
Like, Notre Dame has had their stumbling blocks to begin campaigns in the Freeman era so far.
I don't wanna relive the Marshals and the Northern Illinois and the, oh, starting 0-2 last year.
Like, I don't wanna relive those things.
This is a new year, a new Notre Dame, and they need to come into Lambeau Field pissed off and with a little bit of vigor.
Like, they need to be able to come out and to assert their will, because let's be honest about, about this, okay?
Notre Dame is considered to be a national title favorite going into the year because they are, extremely talented, and Wisconsin isn't.
You also have a head coach that is very much on the hot seat going into the year.
Luke Fickell needs a huge twenty twenty-six season.
So if you're Notre Dame, you have a chance to not only assert yourself on the twenty twenty-six season and say like, "All right, we're here.
We're ready to play, and we might not have the hardest parts of the season until we get to BYU and Miami down the road, but we are here, and we are asserting ourself, and we are saying that this is finally the season that it happens."
You have that chance.
You also have a chance to come in and play against a Wisconsin team, in their home state, that is a little wounded right now, that need that huge season, and I think Notre Dame has a chance to respectfully put your foot on their throat.
So I wanna see early starts to the game.
Come out with that energy, that explosiveness, make some big plays, and make this known that this is not a contest very early on.
Because you know that with how, where the Wisconsin program is, if Notre Dame comes in and punches them in the f- mouth early, this fan base is gonna start to get a little bit, little bit uneasy, little bit like, "Oh man, here we go again."
So Notre Dame needs to start fast, both in this football game and to start the twenty twenty-six season.
The next thing I'll be keeping a close eye on against Wisconsin is the maturation of quarterback CJ Carr.
Talked about it a ton this offseason.
Notre Dame's always gonna run the football, but when you go from Jeremiah Love and Judarrian Price to now Aneyas Williams, Nolan James Jr., and Keidron Young, Notre Dame's running game, I think, is gonna be very good in twenty twenty-six, but it's going to look a lot different.
It is not going to be 70 yards, 80 yards, just consistent explosives like it was a season ago.
It's gonna have to be more efficient.
It's gonna be h- about hitting singles, doubles, triples, and the occasional home run.
I think that you can depend on that, but with the loss of those explosives in the runs game, they have to come from somewhere else, and you're hoping, now as a Richard sophomore, that CJ Carr is able to make those big plays.
We've talked a lot about the upgrade of the wide receiver room.
While there's not a ton of proven production coming back outside of Jordan Faison and some sporadic games from Jaden Greathouse, this is a wide receiver room that is incredibly deep, with players like Milan Graham, with players like Micah Gilbert, Quincy Porter, hopefully.
Like, you have a ton of talented wide receivers, including a dynamic freshman class, Bubba Frazier, Devin Fitzgerald, Kayden Finley.
Notre Dame needs to create some explosives in the passing game, and they need to be able to show that they can rely a lot more on their passing game than they did a season ago.
The next part, I think, is the offensive line.
Like, I just wanna see how quickly this offensive line can gel.
Because while I think this might be their most talented offensive line from, f- from one to five, maybe to begin a year in a few years, it is still a relatively inexperienced offensive line.
You have Will Black making his first career start at left tackle.
You have Gurby Lambert, who was a double-digit game starter at right guard last year, now moving over to right tackle for the first time.
You are also going to have, of course, Anthony Knapp, who was your most experienced offensive line, shifting into a brand-new position at left guard.
Ashton Craig coming back from injury.
Is it going to be Joe Otting at center, Craig at guard?
Is it going to be Styles Prescott for his first career start?
Is it gonna be Sullivan Absher?
I wanna see, first and foremost- What does the right guard center look like?
But then after that, it's about how quickly can they gel?
How quickly can they show the growth that we were hoping to hear f- about a lot more this off-season?
And some very positive remarks for Black, Lambert, and company.
Knapp, I think, has the potential to be an All-American, but now it's about finally putting the offensive line together.
So very curious to see just how quickly that offensive line gels.
On the defensive side of the football, like very simply here, I trust the secondary.
I am a little bit interested to see what it looks like with Christian Gray at nickel, and if D.J.
McKinney or s- Jayden Sanders are the starters there.
But two biggest things that I'm looking for, one, is Kingston Villiamo'osa healthy on the second level, and how do you weaponize him?
Going into his junior year, there's a lot of NFL draft fans out there for Kingston.
KVA is one of those guys that could potentially be the best overall linebacker in the country, and what makes him so special is he can play either linebacker spot, he can blitz off the edge, he can blitz inside, he can do a ton of different things.
So first, foremost, is he healthy?
But then after that, how do you weaponize potentially your most dynamic player outside of Leonard Moore?
Interested to see KVA's full role in this Notre Dame defense if he's healthy.
And then my biggest thing defensively, though, biggest thing, pass rush.
Colton Joseph is an athletic kid at quarterback for Wisconsin.
He can break out of some tackles.
He can extend the passing game with his legs.
Notre Dame, I know that Boubacar Traore is gonna be a very good pass rusher for you.
I also know that you have a ton of talent behind him and on the other side of him in Bryce Young and Keon Keeley and, and s- and Rodney Dunham.
Like, I know you have talent, but who is that secondary pass rusher?
Can a Francis Brew or an Armel Mukam or one of these interior guys, can they pitch in and provide some interior pass rush upside?
You had six and a half sacks from Boubacar last year.
Then you had three and a half from Drake Bowen, a linebacker.
You had three from Kingston Villiamo'osa.
You do not have a ton of proven pass rush production coming back outside of Boubacar.
Who is it?
Bryce Young, Keeley, Dunham, somebody else.
Need to see where that secondary pass rusher is coming for Notre Dame.
Folks, put into the comments section, what are you most looking forward to?
What is a prerequisite for you to feel good about Notre Dame following the first game against Wisconsin?
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And as always, folks, game week, go Irish.
