Notre Dame Football Week 1 Report Card: Irish Pass With Flying Colors

It wasn't easy by any means, especially early, but that's why college football games are 60 minutes long.

After needing a freak turnover on special teams to set up its only first-half touchdown, Notre Dame held a slight 13-10 lead at halftime over a Wisconsin squad it was favored by three touchdowns over.

Then the second half was entirely one-sided as Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish pulled away to a 41-13 victory.

First impressions tend to skew many judgments, but at the end of the day, Notre Dame put it on Wisconsin Sunday night as it passed its first test comfortably.

Notre Dame Offense vs Wisconsin: B+

This almost deserves a grade for the first half and a grade for the second on their own. Notre Dame's offense was next to nonexistent to start, scoring its only first-half touchdown on a short field following a turnover, but dominated the second.

O-line opens the door & Aneyas charges through 💪#GoIrish☘️ | @AneyasW

📺: NBC pic.twitter.com/sZSSxcFMbu
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 7, 2026

Body blows added up, and Notre Dame wound up moving the ball much easier as the game went on, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry for the contest, but over five yards per carry in the fourth quarter. Right guard Sullivan Absher being inserted at halftime also had something to do with that.

Pass protection did no favors against a very good Wisconsin defensive front, but Notre Dame still wound up averaging 5.7 yards per play for the night. That's higher than the 5.4 yards Wisconsin allowed per play over all of 2025.

CJ Carr didn't have any real huge moments, but checking down and knowing when to live to see another down and not putting the ball in harm's way are a credit to him.

Notre Dame Defense vs Wisconsin: A-

Notre Dame was clearly trying to bottle things up and keep everything in front of it. That resulted in Wisconsin having to try and dink and dunk its way down the field and although some possessions wound up being frustrating to watch, the Badgers only wound up with 13 points.

Wisconsin's longest run of the entire night was just eight yards, and a couple of missed tackles led to shorter thrown passes turning into bigger gains. Yes, the touchdown happened on a play the defensive back got worked on, but that was a clinic on bending, but not breaking by the Fighting Irish defense.

PICK-SIX FOR THE FIGHTING IRISH! 💪
Notre Dame wastes NO time for a SECOND third-quarter touchdown!

📺 Wisconsin vs. #4 Notre Dame on NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/iVkY1mpgKh
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 7, 2026

Also, whenever the defense provides a touchdown itself, that only sweetens the deal.

Notre Dame Special Teams vs Wisconsin: B-

It's not often you see Notre Dame get outdone on special teams but that felt like the case early.

The Irish gave up a blocked punt and were on the wrong side of perhaps the most impressive punt you'll ever see.

However, Notre Dame made a field goal (two of them, actually) for the first time since October 11, 2025, and was able to set up a short field on a misplayed kickoff return by Wisconsin.

It was a bit of a roller coaster, but ended with more good than bad in helping Notre Dame get a win.

Notre Dame Coaching vs Wisconsin: B+

You get credit for sticking with the game plan when it was slow to get going and props for pulling the trigger and getting Absher in the game at halftime.

The only issue I had was Marcus Freeman rushing to use timeouts when Wisconsin had the ball late in the first half.

I get wanting to be aggressive and get another chance at a possession, but based off how the first half went, the wiser move probably would have been to let the Badgers run the clock out when it seemed to be offering to.

Notre Dame Overall Grade vs Wisconsin: B+

There were too many things in all departments that said it couldn't be a true A-game, but at the end of the day, Notre Dame dominated that game and all three phases as well as the coaching staff played into that happening.

I think the biggest thing to remember is that just because a team is a national championship contender, it doesn't mean it'll come out and lay 35 points out in the first half with ease. The game is 60 minutes for a reason, and as much as Notre Dame had to fight in the first half, it flat out dominated the second to start 1-0.

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