Notre Dame kicks off the 2026 season with a matchup Sunday evening against Wisconsin in historic Lambeau Field. For Notre Dame, the stakes couldn't be higher as the Irish are a title favorite and are looking to right all of the wrongs of the 2025 season in a huge bounce-back year.
On the Wisconsin side, Luke Fickell is on the hot seat and must show improvement over last year's 4-8 record in order to keep his job in Madison. The pressure is on, and both teams are eager to get off to a 1-0 start. Let's examine the keys to the game for an Irish victory over the Badgers.
Every team's first game is a bit of a mystery. Sure, coaches may have an idea of their personnel and how things might go, but nobody knows for sure until the live action starts.
Goofy things happen in week one that won't happen once teams get settled in. General sloppiness, miscommunications, timing that is off, etc. Notre Dame must limit any Week One variance.
Historically, when Wisconsin is good at football, it runs the rock. That's exactly what Luke Fickell will try to do against the Irish with running back Abu Sama and very athletic quarterback Colton Joseph. The Irish must tackle crisply, limit runs, and force the Badgers to throw into Notre Dame's elite secondary.
Jeremiyah Love and JD Price are no longer donning gold helmets, but the Irish are still going to want and need to run the football. The Irish's new stable of backs must be effective and efficient in this regard to control the clock and game flow. The better the Irish run game is, the more success CJ Carr can have in the passing game.
I have no doubt that with adequate protection, CJ Carr will have a great night in Wisconsin. The Irish offensive line has undergone a lot of shuffling and moving parts and pieces heading into the opener. This unit doesn't have to be perfect in game one; it just has to be good enough.
Wisconsin is almost a three-touchdown underdog to Notre Dame, and Luke Fickell's job is on the line. These factors make me think there very well may be a point in this game where the Badgers try to steal a possession. Notre Dame must be on high alert, particularly in special teams punt situations.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/notredame as Notre Dame vs Wisconsin: Keys To An Irish Victory .
