No. 4 Notre Dame Gives Luke Fickell Yet Another Shot at a Signature Win in Madison

As shocking as it honestly still is given how putrid Wisconsin football was last season, head coach Luke Fickell picked up two ranked wins last fall, knocking off No. 23 Washington and No. 21 Illinois within a three-week span.

While those wins were enormous for morale, those aren't "signature" wins by any stretch of the imagination. The season was already lost; the on-field product was already horrendous.

And while both teams were ranked and technically still had an outside shot at the College Football Playoff at the time, it takes more than beating a team ranked outside the top-20 at home to consider a victory truly "signature."

But right out of the gate in 2026, Fickell has a chance for what would be arguably the biggest win of his career.

2026 starts off with a bang

Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman. | USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin can still accomplish everything it wants to this season without knocking off Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are a national championship favorite; the Badgers are coming off a 4-8 season. Just to finish the 2026 campaign with a winning record would be a big step in the right direction for Wisconsin.

Still, given how important this season is for the future of the Fickell regime and Wisconsin football as a whole, the weight of this game isn't lost on anybody.

“The magnitude of where we are as a program and a team…There’s a lot riding, not just on this week, but on all the things that we’re doing," Fickell said at his Week 1 press conference. “Everybody understands that maybe there’s a little different pressure in the world today, in particular for us.”

Fickell took over in Madison right after the Big Ten West ceased to exist, and he's been faced with some rugged schedules over his first three years.

Two non-conference games against Alabama and one against Notre Dame across four years is brutal enough without the perilous trek through the Big Ten. But across his Wisconsin career, Fickell has faced seven teams ranked inside the final top-10. He's 0-7 in those games.

Can Fickell finally pick up a signature win?

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Now, that's not to say he hasn't gotten close. In 2023, the Badgers were down seven heading into the fourth quarter against Ohio State at home. Against No. 1 Oregon in 2024, Wisconsin led 13-6 heading into the fourth quarter.

Fickell has certainly had to face a murders' row of opponents in Madison, and he doesn't sound too enthused about having to open the season against the national title favorite.

“You would love, obviously, to have a preseason game. Get your feet wet, recognize where you are. We don’t get that choice," he said.

A win over Notre Dame on Sept. 6 wouldn't only be Fickell's first true signature win at Wisconsin; it could potentially change everything.

The flames heating up Fickell's seat would be immediately doused, and the Badgers would also immediately vault into the College Football Playoff conversation, especially considering how light the rest of their schedule is.

"We’re gonna get to find out a lot about ourselves, measure ourselves really quick, find out how much this gap has closed," Fickell said.

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