Rally Report: Biggest Plays from Notre Dame Football’s Uneven Opener

Notre Dame opened the 2026 season 1-0 with a 41-13 win over Wisconsin at Lambeau Field on Sunday night. It was the first college football game played there since 2016, and it made Lambeau the ninth different venue to host a Shamrock Series game. The No. 4 Irish came in three-touchdown favorites, a year after closing the regular season with 10 straight double-digit wins and missing the playoff field.

The game was a tale of two halves. The Badgers held Notre Dame to 4.2 yards per play in the first half, and the Irish went 0-for-6 on third down. The run game managed 29 yards on 16 carries without Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. Notre Dame led just 13-10 at the break, but then outscored Wisconsin 28-3 after it.

Despite the lopsided final, Notre Dame still took a few losses along the way. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was held out about an hour before kickoff while recovering from a second tear of his left ACL. Brauntae Johnson got knocked out of the game in second and returned to the sideline in walking boot in the second half. Jason Onye exited late in the first half, and did not return either.

In a lopsided contest, here are the five plays that swung the game the most.

James Flanigan’s Homecoming Score

Harrison Bortolotti muffed a kickoff and Notre Dame took over 13 yards from the end zone. On second and 3, CJ Carr threw short left to James Flanigan at the 2 for the score, and the Irish had their only touchdown of the first half. The play was worth 8.9 percentage points in the model and put Notre Dame up 10-3. Flanigan is from Green Bay, and his father and grandfather, both named Jim Flanigan, played for the Packers. He capped off his first career touchdown by doing his father’s touchdown celebration.

DJ McKinney’s Pick-Six

Colton Joseph had been clean throughout the first half – no interceptions and no lost fumbles – and Wisconsin was still within 10 early in the third quarter. That changed in a hurry in the second half.

On second and 10 with 8:59 left in the quarter, Joseph threw the ball almost directly to DJ McKinney while being under a heavy rush from Francis Brewu. The Colorado transfer picked it off at the Notre Dame 45 and went 55 yards untouched. Spencer Porath’s kick made it 27-10. The model jumped 11.4 points to 95.8 percent, Notre Dame’s high-water mark of the night, and Wisconsin never got the deficit back under three scores.

Up to this point, the game was still in doubt. After, it never felt close again. Notre Dame went on to score on the next two drives to take a 41-13 lead – the same final as its last contest with Wisconsin four years ago.

Porath Retakes the Lead

A 26-yard field goal wasn’t the longest kick of Spencer Porath’s night, but it was worth 15.3 percentage points in win probability. That helps illustrate how tight the game still was in the second quarter. Porath hit it on fourth and 5 with 8:53 left in the half, capping an eight-play, 67-yard drive to make it 13-10. The Purdue transfer made both his field goal attempts in his Notre Dame debut, the first a 52-yarder in the opening quarter. This one gave the Irish a lead they never surrendered.

The talk of the first half was Notre Dame’s stumbles and struggles, but the 52-yard field goal was a huge positive given some of the struggles in the kicking game a year ago. The kick didn’t clear the crossbar by much, but it was right down the middle. If Notre Dame has a place kicker who is reliable from that distance this season, it’s a huge plus.

Williams Makes It 20-10

Notre Dame’s three-point halftime lead became ten on the opening possession of the second half. Aneyas Williams finished the nine-play, 70-yard march with a run up the middle from the 3, on second and 3 with 10:23 left in the third quarter. The play moved the model 15.6 percentage points toward Notre Dame. Williams was making his first career start in place of two first-round picks, and this was the first of his two touchdowns on the day. He finished with 90 yards on 20 carries.

Notre Dame really needed this drive given how tight the game was in the first half and this gave them a bit of breathing room. McKinney’s pick-6 came on the ensuring Wisconsin drive and from that point on, the rout was on.

Coleman Ties It at 10

Wisconsin needed two plays and 48 yards to erase the lead the muffed kickoff had handed Notre Dame. On first and 10 with 12:36 left in the second quarter, Joseph threw deep right to Malachi Coleman, who caught it in the end zone, and Gavin Lahm’s kick tied the game at 10. The 32.5-point drop was the largest single swing of the game and left Notre Dame at 35.3 percent to win.

Wisconsin’s drive was set up by a misplayed punt going out of bounds at the Notre Dame 1-yard line and backing the Irish offense up. Notre Dame couldn’t escape the shadow of their own endzone and ended up giving the Badgers excellent starting field position.

Notre Dame scored on the opening drive of the third quarter, added McKinney’s return a few minutes later, and gave up only a field goal the rest of the night. September should stay manageable from here – Rice and Michigan State at home, then a trip to Purdue. The ranked tests come later: No. 14 BYU in Provo on Oct. 17, then No. 7 Miami and No. 19 SMU in South Bend in November. That leaves five games before the trip to Provo for the run game to build on its second half rebound and for the vertical passing game to develop.