Notre Dame's defense enters a very intriguing matchup against Wisconsin's offense on Sunday night. The Badgers return offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes for his second year, but the personnel at his disposal looks entirely different from a season ago. They have a dynamic playmaker at quarterback and have a stable of portal running backs expected to contribute.
Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Chris Ashended the season on an exceptionally high note, but now the focus is on the 2026 season. This is going to be a challenge defending the Wisconsin ground game but it's a matchup the Irish defense should win with the level of talent, experience and production they return. Let's dive into the three biggest storylines, two key battles and the one player to watch in Sunday night's matchup at Lambeau Field.
1. Containing Colton Joseph
One of the better portal pickups this past cycle was Wisconsin getting former Old Dominion quarterback Colton Joseph out of the transfer portal. The ground game for the Badgers needs to be the key to their success and has been under head coach Luke Fickell. He's 15-0 when rushing for over 150 yards in games but a measly 1-21 when rushing for under 150 yards. The Joseph acquisition should bolster this run game to be more successful on a week to week basis. Notre Dame's No. 1 priority has to be preventing the dual-threat player from wrecking this game.
2. Maintaining An Early, Aggressive Philosophy
The biggest knock on Notre Dame's defense throughout 2025 was their lack of consistency when being aggressive. Against the better opponents on their schedule, and early in the season, the game plan was extremely passive. Having a quarterback like Joseph will make you pay for that philosophy. This defense and its personnel thrive on aggressive play with players like Drayk Bowen, Jaylen Sneed, Adon Shuler, Christian Gray, Leonard Moore, Brauntae Johnson and Jaiden Ausberry flying to the football. The defensive line will also have to be let loose in this game as well to prevent the Badger's rushing attack to gain any traction.
3. First Look At The New Coaches
One of the storylines that hasn't been talked about as much with this matchup is the outlook for the three new defensive assistants. So far, over the course of the offseason, defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary and defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator Aaron Henry have passed every test with flying colors. But this is our first opportunity to see how they operate on game day, handle rotations and make adjustments on the fly.
1. Notre Dame's Defensive Ends vs. The Wisconsin Offensive Tackles
We've spent a lot of time this offseason talking about the potential of Notre Dame's defensive ends Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young. Both players enter favorable matchups Sunday night. Traore is going against one of Wisconsin's most inexperienced offensive lineman while Young will be playing against a converted guard who slid out to tackle. They have to both be impactful against the run and setting the edge along with generating pressure on Joseph when he drops back to pass. This will be a major matchup to watch Sunday night.
2. Will Linebackers vs. Colton Joseph
I get flashbacks to Notre Dame's matchup against Louisville in 2024 watching quarterback Tyler Shough pulling a read-zone and keeping it around the edge for a massive gain. Now, as we know the play ended with a forced fumble by Moore, but if that happens Sunday against Joseph, he won't be as easily hawked down as Shough was in 2024. The Will linebacker for Notre Dame, whether its Ausberry, Sneed, Viliamu-Asa or even Madden Faraimo will have to remained disciplined on the back end and not let Joseph rip off a huge gain with his legs. He hurt Indiana last season going for 179 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener. Notre Dame can't afford that to happen this Sunday.
One of the easiest ways to shut down an opponent's run game is by dominating them up the middle. Senior defensive tackle Armel Mukam has been poised for a major breakout in each of the last two seasons and Sunday night, I think he finally gets it. He'll be going against Wisconsin right guard Stylz Blackmon who is very inexperienced but has some talent. Mukam has the opportunity to be a game wrecker against the run and as a pass rusher. If he does his job and lets the linebackers go to work against these Wisconsin running backs, Mukam will be one of my players of the game.
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