Going into the season I was a strong believer that Notre Dame had three games to figure out their biggest concerns: a reworked offensive line, a new quarterback for the first time in almost three years, a group of linebackers that was full of unknowns, and a secondary that had many questions after Kyle Hamilton.
Although I would have liked things to go a lot smoother and Notre Dame not have to sneak out victories against Florida State (now 0-3) and Toledo (now 0-2), they got through without a loss and to my eyes have improved in all of these departments.
Don’t get my words twisted, improved doesn’t mean great by any means, but I like what I saw Saturday versus Purdue from those departments more than I liked what I saw in the opener at Florida State. Yes, even from Jack Coan who settled in nicely in the second half.
Now Coan and gets to face his former team that will present the best defensive front he’ll face this regular season. I and many others thought before the year the Irish had three weeks to get it right because of what Wisconsin brings to the table. Don’t let the 1-1 record fool you as the Badgers shot themselves in the foot multiple times in falling at home to Penn State in their opener.
Not only that defensive front but the Badgers as a whole are the best team I’ve watched yet that appears on Notre Dame’s 2021 schedule. There will be a ton of previewing the game here at Fighting Irish Wire and we’re excited for some of the analysis about Wisconsin we’ll be able to share with you from our friends at Badgers Wire.
Notre Dame will be an underdog in this one and understandably so based off what we’ve seen. Stun the Badgers at Soldier Field however and all of a sudden 2021 might not look so gloom-and-doom afterall.
Lose or worse yet, get dominated whether the final score tells the same story or not, and it could be the start of things headed towards a long fall for the Irish.
Here’s to a great week and hopefully a great game that would be even greater if was actually being played on a college campus instead of at one of the worst venues in the NFL.
Related:
Notre Dame-Wisconsin kickoff time officially set