No. 4 Notre Dame opens the season with a trip to Lambeau Field, where Marcus Freeman’s Irish will face Wisconsin in this year’s Shamrock Series matchup in Green Bay.
It’s a spotlight game for a Notre Dame team carrying major expectations into the fall. Freeman is in his fifth season, and for the first time in his tenure he has all three coordinators back, along with a starting quarterback and two defensive captains. The schedule also lines up favorably early, with no CFP hopefuls on the slate in the first 14 days of the season.
At the center of the hype is CJ Carr, who enters the year as a preseason Heisman hopeful. He and third-year offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock are back as what looks like the best quarterback-offensive coordinator pairing in the country, and the Irish still have plenty around them despite some significant departures. Notre Dame lost two first-round NFL Draft picks at running back and a pair of pass catchers who went in the third round, but the offense remains loaded with Aneyas Williams, Jordan Faison, Jaden Greathouse, Ohio State transfer Mylan Graham and more.
The defense should be just as imposing. Chris Ash is back for his second year, and his system is now fully in place.
Bill Connelly of ESPN believes Notre Dame has the most returning production in the country, with most of it coming on defense. Junior cornerback Leonard Moore anchors what is described as the nation’s best secondary, while middle linebacker and captain Drayk Bowen leads what is billed as the deepest and most experienced linebacker room in the country.
Up front, the defensive line led by Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young is expected to take a big step in the first year of the Charlie Partridge era.
Wisconsin, meanwhile, enters with a very different goal: a reset. Luke Fickell’s team is coming off back-to-back losing seasons, going 5-7 in 2024 and 4-8 in 2025, and the Badgers are leaning on a heavy transfer influx to help change that. Former Old Dominion quarterback Colton Joseph headlines the portal additions as a dual-threat option who should help get the ground game moving again.
On the other side of the ball, coordinator Mike Tressel has a defense that mixes returning pieces with new arrivals. Wisconsin wants to keep its identity as a strong run-stopping team, with linebackers Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano leading the way, while portal additions Bryce West, Javan Robinson and Marvin Burks are expected to shore up a secondary that struggled last season.
The matchup itself is rare. Notre Dame and Wisconsin have met only twice since 1965, and their most recent meeting came in 2021, when the Irish beat the Badgers 41-13 at Soldier Field. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 9-6-2 and will try to push that total into double digits in Green Bay.
In Other News...
Former Notre Dame Defender Just Entered LSUs Eligibility Fight
Junior Tuihalamakas football path has taken another turn, with the former Notre Dame defensive lineman now on LSUs roster and expected to play after being granted an extra year of eligibility by the courts. For Irish fans who remember him as part of the defensive front in South Bend, it is another reminder of how much roster movement and eligibility uncertainty continues to shape college football well beyond the transfer portal.
LSU, meanwhile, is taking a more cautious approach with two other players in a similar position. DaeQuan Wright and Zxavian Harris have also been granted a fifth season of eligibility, but they have not been added to the roster yet because of concerns about possible SEC sanctions. Both remain enrolled and could still be moved onto the roster later in the season, which leaves the Tigers waiting on a situation that could ripple through the conference. [Read more 🡒]
Kirk Herbstreit Just Gave Notre Dame Fans A Huge Reason To Dream
A preseason prediction like this always grabs attention, but it hits a little differently when it comes with real bracket detail. During ESPNs College GameDay broadcast, Kirk Herbstreit not only put Notre Dame in the mix for a serious playoff run, he slotted the Irish as a No. 3 seed on his way to a national championship picture built around wins over Texas and Georgia.
Herbstreit went even further by calling Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr his preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, a nod that adds another layer to the optimism around the program. The final step in his projection sends Notre Dame into a title game against Indiana, and while the road there is only hypothetical for now, it is exactly the kind of forecast that gives Irish fans plenty to talk about before the season even gets going. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Is In The Mix For A Recruit Fans Need To Watch
Grant Bowen has quickly become one of the more intriguing recruiting names in Illinois, and Notre Dame is right in the thick of it. The Elmhurst Immaculate Conception standout has drawn more than 30 college offers thanks to his work as both a tight end and an edge rusher, a rare combination that has made evaluators across the country take notice. 247Sports lists him as the No. 102 player nationally and the No. 6 prospect in the state, which helps explain why his recruitment has moved so fast.
Notre Dame jumped in with an offer on January 30, and the Irish offensive staff has shown strong interest since then. For a program that likes to identify versatile athletes with room to develop, Bowen fits the kind of profile that can stay on the radar deep into the cycle. His two-way ability gives schools plenty to sort through, and it should make his next steps worth following closely for Notre Dame fans. [Read more 🡒]