All of the hype and the hoopla of the offseason was quickly wiped away for Notre Dame. Despite the “leave no doubt” mantra and the focus on starting fast — the football gods had something to say about it with Wisconsin and Lambeau Field. In the end, however, the Irish put in enough work to get a 41-13 win over Wisconsin in the season opener.
Both Notre Dame and Wisconsin started the game with a 3 and out and followed them up with a field goal each. Spencer Porath’s three pointer was the first Irish
field goal since October of last year.
Notre Dame’s offense just looked apprehensive and way too conservative with a quarterback like CJ Carr, and they tried dinking and dunking to no real success. The Irish caught a big break, however, when Wisconsin fumbled the kickoff after the Porath field goal, and Ko’o Kia recovered the ball (seemingly) inbounds. A few plays later, Carr found tight end James Flanigan for the first touchdown of the season.
Wisconsin, however, fought back and Badger WR Malachi Coleman put a move on Jayden Sanders to get wide open and Colton Joseph found him in the corner of the end zone to tie the game up at 10 a piece. Notre Dame answered that Badger score with another field goal, but looked basically inept on offense for the rest of the half. The Irish went into the locker room up 13-10, and they had a lot to discuss.
To their credit, Notre Dame found new life at the start of the third quarter with the opening possession of the half. The Irish went 70 yards on 9 plays, and Aneyas Williams found the end zone with a shifty three yard run. The momentum looked real because on Wisconsin’s ensuing possession, cornerback DJ McKinney intercepted a Colton Jospeh pass and took it 55 yards for a touchdown to make the game 27-10.
The spread on this game was 20.5, so in reality, Notre Dame was really right where they were supposed to be. Wisconsin, however, worked its way down the field again and knocked in a short field goal to make the game 27-13 going into the 4th quarter.
Notre Dame answered that Badger field goal with another Aneyas Williams touchdown run to cap a 75 yard drive to increase the lead to 34-13. The Irish added a touchdown after the two minute warning with a CJ Carr to Nolan James catch and run.
