Game of the week: 5 things to know about Notre Dame-Wisconsin
Our game of the week is No. 12 Notre Dame (3-0) vs. No. 18 Wisconsin (1-1) at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The game kicks off at noon ET on Fox; Gus Johnson will handle the play-by-play and Joel Klatt is the analyst.
Here are five things to know about the Notre Dame-Wisconsin game, plus the predicted final score from the On3 national staff.
1. Notre Dame’s quarterback
Jack Coan started 18 games for Wisconsin at quarterback in 2018 and ’19, then didn’t play last season after suffering a broken foot in early October. He transferred to Notre Dame after the season and, as expected, won the starting job in preseason camp. In his first start for the Irish, he threw for a career-high 366 yards in the season-opening win over Florida State. Coan had one 300-yard game with the Badgers; in his 12 of his 18 starts, he didn’t even throw for 200 yards. Coan also has attempted at least 30 passes in each game this season; he reached that total five times in his 18 starts with the Badgers. Yes, one reason is that Wisconsin is more run-heavy than Notre Dame (which, truthfully, has struggled to run this season). But another is that Irish coaches seem to trust Coan more as a passer, though that hurt last week when Coan was 15-of-31 against Purdue. You know Coan will want to light up his old team. Can he do so? If there’s any staff that knows Coan’s strengths and weaknesses, it’s Wisconsin’s.
2. Wisconsin’s linebackers
This will be the best position group on the field. In Jack Sanborn, the Badgers have one of the best inside ’backers in the nation. Plus, Saturday will be the season debut of Leo Chenal, a 2020 starter who missed the first two games because of COVID. Both are big, physical guys who attack downhill, and they’re put in good positions by coordinator Jim Leonhard to make a ton of tackles. Sanborn has led the Badgers in tackles in each of the past two seasons and should do so again this fall. Chenal is a 260-pounder who has some thump and a knack for finding his way into the backfield. OLBs Noah Burks and Nick Herbig are returning starters, as well; indeed, Burks is a sixth-year senior and is as steady as they come. Herbig is the better pass rusher of the two, and he’ll have the opportunity to get reacquainted with Coan.
3. The rushing attacks
The Irish have good running backs in Kyren Williams and Chris Tyree. But the offensive line is not good, at least not yet. That isn’t all that surprising, considering four starters graduated and the one returning starter has changed positions. The Irish are averaging 2.94 yards per rush, ninth-worst nationally. Given that the strength of Wisconsin’s defense is its linebackers, you wonder if the Irish can get to even 100 yards on the ground. And if not, that means Coan has to win the game. Wisconsin, meanwhile, has found a surprisingly productive lead back in Clemson transfer Chez Mellusi. He took advantage of a camp injury to Jalen Berger to seize the starting job, and he has 265 yards and two touchdowns in two games. Berger and Isaac Guerendo have combined for 210 yards and two TDs in backup roles. The Irish’s run defense has gotten incrementally better each week, but the opponents have been, in order, Florida State (which ran all over Notre Dame), Toledo and Purdue; none of those teams have anything close to the offensive line that Wisconsin has. Unlike Coan, Badgers starting QB Graham Mertz has to feel good about his running game.
4. Brian Kelly
Kelly would become the winningest coach in Notre Dame history if the Irish win. He is 105-39 in his 12th season with the Irish; Kelly is tied for the most wins with Knute Rockne, who was 105-12-5 in 13 seasons. Rockne also won three national titles; Rockne is one of five Irish coaches to have won it all, joining Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Lou Holtz. Kelly early this week: “I can tell you exactly where I sit in Notre Dame history — the coach that won more games that hasn’t won a national championship.” He also said, “Everything’s judged, and rightly so, on winning a national championship, and I have no problem with that. I knew that coming in.”
5. Recent history
This is the first meeting between the teams since 1964 and just the fourth since 1944. That game in 1964 was the first for Parseghian at Notre Dame—the beginning of the “Era of Ara.” It also was the final game in a three-game home-and-home series in which two of the games were played in Madison. This is the 17th meeting overall, and seven were played before 1930. As for that 1964 game, the Irish were coming off a 2-7 record in 1963, their fourth consecutive non-winning season. But Notre Dame unleashed a powerful passing attack, with eventual Heisman winner John Huarte connecting with Jack Snow nine times for 217 yards and two TDs. The 217 receiving yards set a single-game school record; that figure is third now. Notre Dame held Wisconsin to minus-51 rushing yards (yes, you read that right) and Parseghian was carried off the field on his players’ shoulders (and, yes, you read that right, too — carried off the field after his first game).
On3 predictions
Mike Huguenin: Wisconsin 24-16
Ivan Maisel: Wisconsin 24-20
Charles Power: Wisconsin 21-13
Matt Zenitz: Wisconsin 28-20