Freeman’s Offensive Checklist for Wisconsin: Ball Security, Discipline, and Clean Operation

Marcus Freeman was asked Monday what a good day for the Notre Dame offense would look like at Lambeau Field if you set the scoreboard aside. His answer was a checklist, and it did not include a single explosive play.

“Just the execution is always important,” Freeman said. “The ability to take care of the ball. We got to have great ball security. The pre-snap penalties, it will reflect the discipline we have as a football unit.”

That is the standard the head coach says he will be grading against Sunday night in the Shamrock Series season opener against Wisconsin, and he ran through it in that order without being asked twice. Notre Dame’s 13th Shamrock Series game, the last one coming in 2024 at Yankee Stadium, arrives with a reshuffled offensive line and one glaring question left in the starting lineup. The Irish and Badgers last met in the 2021 Shamrock Series at Soldier Field.

“The aggressive penalties, those come with the game of football, but we can’t beat Notre Dame with pre-snap penalties because of a lack of focus,” Freeman said. “So that’s the things that are important to me. Hey, what is our execution? How are we really flowing as an offense in terms of not putting our offense in negative situations?”

Freeman expects a 50-50 crowd at Lambeau, which strips away the usual alibi for a false start.

What Freeman Is Actually Measuring

Freeman was equally clear about what will not move him.

“Again, I’m not worried about the big plays and all those things,” he said. “I’m just worried about an efficient offense and an offense that continues to execute at a high level.”

Freeman spent four years on Luke Fickell’s staff at Cincinnati, and he does not expect the Wisconsin defense to hand anything over.

“Defensively, they’re going to be sound,” Freeman said. “They’re going to do everything in their power to stop the run. They’re going to be aggressive, and they got good personnel. I think they got two linebackers that are really good. Eight might be as good as anyone we see this season. He’s a really good player.”

The number eight belongs to Mason Posa. The other linebacker Freeman singled out is a former Notre Dame recruiting target.

“And then we obviously recruited Sebastian Cheeks years ago,” Freeman said, “and he’s gone on to continue to do some really, really good things. And he has shown to be a problem off the edge.”

Why the Offensive Line Is Central

Will Black, the five-star out of Choate Rosemary Hall who arrived as the No. 26 player in the country and the No. 4 offensive tackle in his class, is the first-time starting left tackle.

Next to him is Anthonie Knapp, a starter at left tackle the last two years, moved inside to guard. Freeman leaned on that pairing when the communication question came up.

“A lot of our calls, we always pride ourselves on making them inside out, starting with the center, then goes to the guard, to the tackles,” Freeman said. “And so for Will to have a guy like Anthonie that has experience, that is as good of a player as he is, to help him with communication, with help him with ID and different things is a huge benefit.”

One Spot Still to Be Decided

Right guard remains unsettled, and it’s the one position in the starting lineup left undecided. Sullivan Absher and Styles Prescod were listed with an “or” on the depth chart. Freeman said a decision is close but not made, and that Prescod, a four-star who came in as the No. 27 tackle nationally and the No. 7 player in Indiana out of Hamilton Southeastern, earned his move from backup tackle into the conversation in camp.

Ashton Craig is back at center after the ACL injury that ended his 2025 season. There was some thought that Craig would slide over to guard, with Joe Otting, his replacement, remaining in the starting lineup, but as of now it looks as though the Irish will go with either Absher or Prescod.

“Again, you talk about a guy with ACL, just came off an ACL, but he has a lot of experience and I think there’s a calmness that he brings because of his experience,” Freeman said. “He’s a really, really good football player and he’s really progressed throughout camp with his workload and has gotten himself to a place that he’s ready to go.”

Staying on Schedule at Lambeau

Meeting that standard against this front starts with Craig’s inside-out calls getting to the edge clean on a night when the crowd noise is a coin flip. Unlike a year ago though when CJ Carr was making the first start of his career inside a hostile environment in Miami, he’ll be much more in command even if the crowd were to lean Badger. A year later, Carr is a seasoned starter firmly in the Heisman conversation to start the season.

And while Wisconsin will try to take away the run, Carr and the Irish passing game are more than capable of making the Badger defense pay through the air. As long as the offense stays on schedule and avoids the self-inflicted wounds Freeman referenced, the Irish offense shouldn’t have too much trouble putting up points.