Frankie V’s Prediction: Will Notre Dame Football Make a Statement in the Opener?

The long and grueling offseason is over, and the 2026 Notre Dame football season is finally here. The Irish kick off one of the most highly anticipated seasons in recent Notre Dame football history tonight at Lambeau Field against Wisconsin in a game that, when originally scheduled, appeared to be much more of a marquee showdown. Instead, the Irish enter this game as heavy, heavy favorites. Will the Irish make it as easy as the oddsmakers say? Let’s dive in.

Things That Worry Me This Week

Notre Dame’s reshuffled offensive line

If I have a worry on the offensive side of the ball for Notre Dame, it would be some early-game and early-season kinks getting worked out on the offensive line. From left to right, the offensive line is stocked with very talented linemen, but with the reshuffling Notre Dame did, they could have four players starting at new positions tonight: Will Black at left tackle, Anthonie Knapp at left guard, Guerby Lambert at right tackle, and either Styles Prescod or Sullivan Absher at right guard (they were listed as OR at right guard on the official Notre Dame football depth chart).

Black is a first-time starter. Knapp started at left tackle last year. Lambert was at right guard, and if Prescod starts at right guard, he’d be a first-time starter too. Now, Knapp has played a ton of high-leverage football at a high level, albeit somewhere else on the line. Lambert played a lot last year as well. Still, offensive line play does take time to gel, and that is a lot of moving parts for the Notre Dame offensive line.

Worry could be a stretch here because I think this could be one of the best offensive lines in college football by the end of the season, but for tonight there is a chance that they could get off to a little bit of a slow start.

A mobile quarterback who can make plays with his legs

Wisconsin’s offense shouldn’t give Notre Dame’s defense too much of a hard time tonight. However, the one equalizer could be the legs of Colton Joseph. Mobile quarterbacks are always a concern anytime you face them, and that is the one way that Wisconsin could make some plays early and keep this a contest longer than it should be. He did it last year against Indiana when he was the starting quarterback for ODU, and he’s got the attention of Chris Ash as well as the Notre Dame players.

Both Ash and captain Drayk Bowen mentioned containing Joseph throughout the week during Notre Dame’s media availabilities. The Notre Dame defense is loaded with veterans and playmakers at all three levels, but if there is one concern, it would be Joseph busting off a few long runs and giving Wisconsin momentum.

Star linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa also being listed as questionable makes this more of a concern. He is one of the best linebackers in the country and exactly the guy you want on the field against a quarterback who can take off.

A slow start from the Notre Dame offense

Notre Dame is replacing a pair of first-round NFL running backs, and they’ve reshuffled the offensive line. Aneyas Williams has never been the guy carrying the load, Kedren Young is still establishing what his role looks like, and the entire operation up front is sorting itself out in real time. That’s a lot of moving parts, and in an opener it could cause a slower start than fans would like. Now, that’s not to say that’ll definitely happen, but it is a concern of mine coming into this game. I would not be surprised if the game is a little closer than fans would like at halftime.

I do believe any of those potential kinks could be worked out by the end of the game, but openers have a way of being funky at times, and that could happen tonight. So if there is a slow start by the Irish offense, don’t panic or overreact. It is likely just all of the moving parts taking some time to gel.

What doesn’t worry me this week

Notre Dame having a star quarterback

Notre Dame is a 20.5-point favorite for a reason. They are the better football team with its most stacked roster in years. And one of the biggest reasons why is because Notre Dame has an elite quarterback. Carr is going to begin his Heisman campaign tonight in Lambeau on a national stage, and I have no doubt he’s going to take full advantage of that opportunity.

Mike Denbrock said earlier this week that Notre Dame’s offensive identity still begins with a run, but when you have a quarterback as elite as CJ Carr, you also have to let him throw. And I have no doubt that Carr will throw the ball quite a bit tonight. Whether or not he challenges his career records for passing yards or touchdowns, both of which he set against Arkansas last year with 354 yards and four touchdowns, I don’t know. But I do expect Carr to have a heck of a game tonight.

Wisconsin doing any damage through the air

Colton Joseph may hurt Notre Dame with his legs at some point tonight, but I’m pretty confident that he will not do a lot of damage with his arm. Notre Dame has perhaps the best secondary in the country, and Wisconsin does not have the playmakers at receiver nor the quarterback to stress the secondary vertically.

Earlier this week, Luke Fickell said the Badger offense won’t shy away from throwing the football toward All-American Leonard Moore. Perhaps that was just gamesmanship from Fickell in the media because if the Badgers do try and challenge Moore, Joseph’s stat line could rival that of Graham Mertz’s from the last time Notre Dame played Wisconsin.

For those of you who don’t remember, Mertz threw four interceptions.

The Notre Dame pass rush getting home

Wisconsin comes into this game with question marks along its offensive line, with several injuries, so we’ll see who ultimately lines up for the Badgers tonight. If they are as injured as reports suggest, the Notre Dame defensive line could eat tonight. Notre Dame is as deep as it’s been in years along the interior of the line and, between Bryce Young, Boubacar Traore, and Keon Keeley, the Irish have a pass-rush group that can get home.

Wisconsin will probably try to run the football and use Joseph’s legs to keep the pass rush off balance, but any time Joseph drops back, it could be a long night for him in the pocket.

Notre Dame’s reworked wide receiver room

The receiver position for Notre Dame might be a bit unsettled heading into the season, given the injury to Quincy Porter, but I think this room makes a bunch of plays tonight. With Jaden Greathouse finally healthy, Jordan Faison fully focused on football this offseason, and the emergence of Micah Gilbert, along with the addition of Mylan Graham, Notre Dame has one of its deepest wide receiver rooms in years.

I don’t think any one of them becomes the go-to guy, at least not this week, but I think we’ll see CJ Carr spread the ball around quite a bit to his receivers tonight.

Players to Watch

• Keon Keeley. Notre Dame fans have waited a long time to see him suit up for the Irish. It’ll be fun to finally get that chance tonight.
• Aneyas Williams. His first game as RB1 for Notre Dame, and I think he’ll have a great outing.
• Armel Mukam. He was the talk of camp this summer and has ascended to a starting role after briefly entering the transfer portal in January.
• James Flanigan. He’s playing in a stadium that has a lot of history for his family, and I think Mike Denbrock cooks up a play for him at the goal line.
• Kedren Young. Another back besides Williams will get some carries and make some plays tonight, and I have a suspicion it’s Young.
• Micah Gilbert. Gilbert will make his first career start after being a camp sensation two years in a row. The injury to Porter has opened a window for him to start, and he gets his chance tonight.

Prediction Time

In the end, the line from Vegas in this game feels really good because I think that is right around how much Notre Dame will win by. Notre Dame is simply vastly superior talent-wise to Wisconsin right now. While Wisconsin may be better than they were a year ago, they aren’t going to be good enough to beat Notre Dame tonight, even if the crowd skews Badger at Lambeau Field. These Notre Dame players have been waiting a long time to get back on the field after the bitter taste that was left in their mouth at the end of last season. Wisconsin is the first opponent that will pay the price.

Notre Dame 38, Wisconsin 17