Notre Dame Could be Without Several Key Players Against Wisconsin in Week 1

The Fighting Irish have their own rash of injuries to work through.

Wide receiver Quincy Porter walks to a Notre Dame football practice. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Now that Week 1 of the college football season is officially upon us, attention has fully turned to the Badgers' daunting opponent, the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

As Wisconsin fans try to talk themselves into optimism against the stacked national title favorite, a recurring theme is the health — or lack thereof — of two of the Badgers' starting offensive linemen on the right side, guard Emerson Mandell and tackle Kevin Heywood.

The potential loss of two starters at a position so crucial to the identity the Badgers want to play with is certainly cause for concern in Madison. But while the heavily-favored Irish game-plan for how to exploit Wisconsin's potential deficiencies along the offensive line, there could be a few chinks in Notre Dame's armor as well from an injury standpoint.

The Irish aren't part of a conference, so they aren't required to adhere to the same injury report rules as the rest of the Power Four. But Notre Dame does release its own injury report, and several key names popped up.

Notre Dame LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa is questionable against Wisconsin.

Injury report ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/gLU7jkLbVa

— Mike Singer (@MikeTSinger) August 31, 2026

Linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa is officially listed as questionable. Though his mom doesn't seem all that concerned with his inclusion on the availability report, his absence would weaken a strong Notre Dame linebacker corps.

Though Viliamu-Asa isn't listed as a starter, he has highly productive last fall in South Bend to the tune of 48 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, three sacks, one interception and two pass-breakups.

You could make the case that wideout Quincy Porter, who's already been ruled out for Week 1, is the most significant absence. The 6-4, 215-pound Ohio State transfer is slated to be a starter this fall, but a kneecap ailment is holding him out. That leaves Notre Dame without one of their starting outside wide receivers.

What Notre Dame's injuries mean for Wisconsin

Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa . | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Viliamu-Asa would strip the Irish of a big playmaker for their defense, but again, he's not even a starter; there's a lot more where that came from. Up front, Wisconsin needs to be more concerned with pass-rush specialist Boubacar Traore, who notched 37 tackles, 6.5 sacks and 10.5 TFLs last season.

Still, Viliamu-Asa's nose for the football would be valuable against Jeff Grimes' offense, which features lots of shifts, motions and jet sweeps. Nonetheless, starters Jaiden Ausberry and Drayk Bowen, both experienced, productive fourth-year players, are going to be a handful for the Badgers.

The injury to Porter looks to be a bigger deal. Notre Dame isn't as deep at receiver as it is along the defensive front seven. Fellow starter Jordan Faison is a stud who reeled in 49 catches for 640 yards and four scores last season, but other than Jaden Greathouse, who was limited to just four games last fall, the Irish don't have another wideout in the rotation who's even notched 100 receiving yards in a season.

An injury to Porter could mean the Badgers get to divert more attention to Faison. Of course, Notre Dame has an extremely talented quarterback in CJ Carr, so they'll have to be careful not to tip their hand. But Porter's absence strips Notre Dame of its tallest wideout and a promising Ohio State transfer who was poised to start on the perimeter.