Badgers battle Fighting Irish - Game Preview
September 03, 2026 | Football
Wisconsin kicks off the 2026 season in Green Bay on Sunday night
The Wisconsin football team begins the 2026 on Sunday, Sept. 6, under the lights at Lambeau Field against No. 4 Notre Dame. Kickoff against the Fighting Irish is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT, with the game airing nationally on NBC and Peacock.
The Badgers enter their fourth full season under head coach Luke Fickell looking to build on the progress made at the end of last season. Wisconsin returns several key contributors on both sides of the ball while welcoming plenty of new talent from across the college football landscape. The season opener will provide the team with an opportunity to test the roster against a nationally ranked opponent in Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish finished 10-2 during the 2025 regular season and enter 2026 ranked No. 4 in the preseason Associated Press poll. The team returns multiple contributors, including quarterback CJ Carr who finished top-five in multiple categories during his debut season and Leonard Moore who ended 2025 as the top graded cornerback according to PFF. Notre Dame is led by Marcus Freeman, who played under Fickell at Ohio State and later coached alongside him at Cincinnati. The matchup will be the first time the two face each other as opposing head coaches.
UP FOR THE CHALLENGE
The Badgers will open the season against a top-five ranked opponent for the first time since they played No. 5 LSU at Lambeau Field in 2016. After the first week, Wisconsin returns to Madison to host Western Illinois and Eastern Michigan to wrap up non-conference play. The season opener will provide an early measuring stick for the Badgers against one of the nation’s top teams.
BASH BROS RETURN
Two breakout stars on Wisconsin’s defense will be back for the 2026 season. Inside linebackers Cooper Catalano and Mason Posa look to build off of impressive freshman campaigns. Posa earned FWAA Freshman All-America status and was named third team All-Big Ten following the 2025 season.
WHO'S WHO AND WHO'S NEW?
Wisconsin’s roster features 34 new players from the transfer portal, the third most in the Big Ten and the most in a single off-season since the start of Fickell’s tenure. This includes starting quarterback Colton Joseph, a junior transfer from Old Dominion University. Other new additions to watch include running back Abu Sama III from Iowa State, safety Marvin Burks Jr. from Mizzou and Arizona State transfer Javan Robinson at cornerback.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first meeting between Wisconsin and Notre Dame since 2021, when the teams met at Soldier Field in Chicago. The Fighting Irish won that matchup, 41-13. The programs have met 17 times overall, with Notre Dame holding a 9-6-2 advantage in the all-time series.
Sunday's matchup will mark the third major college football game played at Lambeau Field. The Badgers' most recent appearance at the stadium came in the 2016 season opener, when unranked Wisconsin defeated No. 5 LSU, 16-14, in an upset.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT - K GAVIN LAHM
For Green Bay area native Gavin Lahm, this game will be particularly full circle. Wisconsin’s kicker grew up a Packers fan and understands the personal and cultural significance of playing in such a historic venue.
“My grandparents had season tickets,” says Lahm. “So growing up, I went to plenty of games.”
But when the team visited the stadium earlier this year, it was different.
It meant more when we went. We saw our big “W” on the jumbotron. We knew, after preseason, we were going to be the guys on the field.”
