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Notre Dame Football

Game Thread | No. 12 Notre Dame vs. No. 18 Wisconsin

September 24, 2021
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No. 12 Notre Dame (3-0) vs. No. 18 Wisconsin (1-1)

Soldier Field | 12:00 p.m. ET | FOX | Wisconsin -6.5 | O/U: 45

Game Week Articles | Roster| Depth Chart Schedule 


Midwest Battle

All eyes on the college football world will focus on Soldier Field on Saturday as Big Noon Kickoff, College Game Day and Barstool Sports will all be in Chicago for Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin. 

It’s a chance for Notre Dame to make a statement on a national level as they’ll enter Saturday’s contest an underdog. It’s also an opportunity for Brian Kelly’s team to form an identity for this season. 

Notre Dame has made progress on defense over the first three weeks and stopping Wisconsin’s run game will be a challenge, but one the Irish should be able to do. The Irish offensive line will need to rise to the occasion and find a run game, which has been a struggle through three games. 

Regardless of the run game, the silver lining for Notre Dame is Wisconsin’s offense has yet to complete a pass over 20 yards this season. If Marcus Freeman’s defense can stop the the run, Notre Dame should be able to move to 4-0. 


Five Players To Watch

Notre Dame DT Howard Cross
Even if Kurt Hinish is playing in this game, Mike Elston will have to lean on Cross to play plenty of snaps. He has to step up to the challenge with a greater workload against an offense that will try and run right at him.

Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz
After a spectacular debut for the Badgers last season, he's been a below-average quarterback. There will be points in this game where they need him to make a throw to keep the chains moving and he hasn't proven he can do that consistently. Pressuring him will be critical for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame WR Kevin Austin
After a game he'd like to forget last week, he gets a chance to bounce back. Wisconsin plays a good amount of man coverage, so there will be more opportunities to get back to the player he looked like the first couple of weeks of the season.

Wisconsin LB Jack Sanborn
One of the top inside linebackers in the country, he's a great blitzer who plays as big of a role as a pass rusher as any of Wisconsin's players up front. 

Notre Dame LB JD Bertrand
He's been a tackling machine to start the season and he's going to have to be at his best in this game with Wisconsin's run-heavy offense. The Irish need another double-digit tackle game from him with multiple stuffs.


Quotes of the Week

Notre Dame QB Jack Coan:
”It's definitely going to be weird. It's going to be a lot of my friends I'm playing against and a lot of guys I still talk to today. At the end of the day, it's another football game and I like to think I don't get more excited for one game than the next. It will certainly be a pretty cool atmosphere and we're playing against a great team, so it'll be fun." 

Notre Dame OL Josh Lugg:
"I think every week we should have a chip on our shoulder no matter who the opponent is or who we're playing. We definitely need to execute, play our fundamentals and go back to the basics so we can do our job come Saturday. 

"If we want our team to be successful, it starts with us up front and doing our job consistently, not just one play here or there." 

Notre Dame LB Drew White:
"It's going to be an electric atmosphere," said White. "I don't want to come off bad when I say this, but that's for the fans and media. That's for everyone else to have a good time and when I'm done playing football, I'll be excited for that too. 

"We have a job to do. The job doesn't change. We're playing an opponent that's going to try to run the ball down our throat and we're going to have to stop them. The focus and attention to that aspect and eliminating the outside noise is going to be important." 

Notre Dame S Houston Griffith:
"It means a lot to me. It'll be my first time playing at home since I was 15 years old. I had my first high school varsity start at Soldier Field. To have it all come full circle my senior year against a big opponent like Wisconsin at Soldier Field, it means a lot to me and my family as well. 

"This is probably the most people that are going to come to my game since I've been at Notre Dame. It will be fun to play in front of family and friends." 

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly:
"Regardless of if we run the ball 70 times or throw it 70, our attention to detail, our focus, playing with grit, great attitude and being smart - that will never change. 

"What I was saying is that Wisconsin does that and their systems don't change. We'll change with personnel relative to who we need to be from an offensive standpoint and we have defensively. 

"Our process and how we play and what we need to do on a day-to-day basis, those traits won't change. If we keep those consistent and then let our players play, we'll be pretty good. That's a process for us. 

"It's hard and we've got some young players who are learning how to do that on the fly. They're getting better at it, but we're certainly not a finished product when it comes to that." 


For Your Nerves 

TEAM STATS Notre Dame Wisconsin
Points Per Game 33.3 22.0
Points Allowed Per Game 26.7 11.5
Total Yards 407.7 441.5
Yards Passing 302.0 175.5
Yards Rushing 105.7 266.0
Yards Allowed 381.0 194.5
Pass Yards Allowed 232.7 161.5
Rush Yards Allowed  148.3 33.0

Game Thread | No. 12 Notre Dame vs. No. 18 Wisconsin

140,163 Views | 1469 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by irish4life
Sgt Hulka
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Throw it again, Ethel.
ksny
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Love it when a team is forced to run out the clock at the end of both halves and they lose by 28.
jeash
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Mertz has thrown more touchdowns for ND than Coan. Paul Chryst chose the right guy.
ND_Chelu
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Congratulations to BK!
ohiondfan
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Mike- no pro Michigan content allowed. You know the rules sir.

Mike Frank said:

mavscoach said:

Rwolf101 said:

This is a quality win. Wisconsin might drop out of the top 25 and find it hard to return, but ND defense made Wisconsin painfully one dimensional and out athleted them at every level except the trenches.
They'll be right back when they beat Michigan
They won't beat Michigan.

This Wisconsin team sucks on offense.
Rwolf101
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ND_Chelu said:

Where's the dude that said Wiscy by 11 because Hinish was out?

The messed up thing is I called Wisconsin by 11 before I knew about hinish. And I would've revised to 17 earlier in this game if I could've. What a game. I am optimistic about the rest of the season even with all the line issues.
mavscoach
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Mike Frank said:

mavscoach said:

Rwolf101 said:

This is a quality win. Wisconsin might drop out of the top 25 and find it hard to return, but ND defense made Wisconsin painfully one dimensional and out athleted them at every level except the trenches.
They'll be right back when they beat Michigan
They won't beat Michigan.

This Wisconsin team sucks on offense.
I can dream cant I LOL
BlueGraySky
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**** fox
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NDFan1
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Don't forget about Mike's zoom call after the game
TheGroove91
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Congrats coach kelly
TornisODaly
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*Exhale*
-------

Tornis
irishinutah
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Mike Frank said:

mavscoach said:

Rwolf101 said:

This is a quality win. Wisconsin might drop out of the top 25 and find it hard to return, but ND defense made Wisconsin painfully one dimensional and out athleted them at every level except the trenches.
They'll be right back when they beat Michigan
They won't beat Michigan.

This Wisconsin team sucks on offense.

They suck really bad…seriously bad
BlueGraySky
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I can't believe I missed the end of this game
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Naptown ND
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Say yes, Coach!
Matt4NDFI
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BlueGraySky said:

I can't believe I missed the end of this game


I can't believe you did either, I could skip the rest of the game and just watch the 4th quarter when rewatching.
smatthew77
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Defense is playing really well. Big test next week!
BlueGraySky
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Matt4NDFI said:

BlueGraySky said:

I can't believe I missed the end of this game


I can't believe you did either, I could skip the rest of the game and just watch the 4th quarter when rewatching.


I haven't missed an ND game in two decades
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MAS
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Mike Frank said:

mavscoach said:

Rwolf101 said:

This is a quality win. Wisconsin might drop out of the top 25 and find it hard to return, but ND defense made Wisconsin painfully one dimensional and out athleted them at every level except the trenches.
They'll be right back when they beat Michigan
They won't beat Michigan.

This Wisconsin team sucks on offense.


But if they did it would be delicious
pbrad28
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What just happened!?! Wow
irish91
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ND Offense 14
ND Defense 14
ND ST 13
Wisc 13
JoePotato
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Played with a 3rd string QB, 3rd string left tackle, no Kurt, and Wisconsin had a bye and ND just won 41-13!! That fourth quarter left me speechless

Go IRISH!
Firefighter8196
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Man…what an awesome 2nd half to watch
ndwilky
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BlueGraySky said:

Matt4NDFI said:

BlueGraySky said:

I can't believe I missed the end of this game


I can't believe you did either, I could skip the rest of the game and just watch the 4th quarter when rewatching.


I haven't missed an ND game in two decades
Move to Indiana bro, it's probably not much different than Iowa and we don't get taken away from ND games for Iowa State
BlueGraySky
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ndwilky said:

BlueGraySky said:

Matt4NDFI said:

BlueGraySky said:

I can't believe I missed the end of this game


I can't believe you did either, I could skip the rest of the game and just watch the 4th quarter when rewatching.


I haven't missed an ND game in two decades
Move to Indiana bro, it's probably not much different than Iowa and we don't get taken away from ND games for Iowa State


I'm so ****ing mad right now
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ndwilky
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Here's a picture of my son as fire cadet with the Edgewood Volunteer FD to cheer you up a bit

BlueGraySky
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ndwilky said:

Here's a picture of my son as fire cadet with the Edgewood Volunteer FD to cheer you up a bit




Brother I remember when you posted a pic of him as a little guy.

If you need any help on the fire career path I work with wisconsin regularly and have some contacts
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mgmcool
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Is there a link somewhere?
BlueGraySky
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BlueGraySky said:

ndwilky said:

Here's a picture of my son as fire cadet with the Edgewood Volunteer FD to cheer you up a bit




Brother I remember when you posted a pic of him as a little guy.

If you need any help on the fire career path I work with wisconsin regularly and have some contacts


If he doesn't already have his EMT I'm teaching an EMT class in December that's via zoom and it's only 800 bucks
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ndwilky
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BlueGraySky said:

BlueGraySky said:

ndwilky said:

Here's a picture of my son as fire cadet with the Edgewood Volunteer FD to cheer you up a bit




Brother I remember when you posted a pic of him as a little guy.

If you need any help on the fire career path I work with wisconsin regularly and have some contacts


If he doesn't already have his EMT I'm teaching an EMT class in December that's via zoom and it's only 800 bucks
He's actually attending the career campus at Anderson High School and studying Fire & Rescue. He will have all his certifications when he graduates. He is at the fire station now doing some sort of training.
BlueGraySky
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ndwilky said:

BlueGraySky said:

BlueGraySky said:

ndwilky said:

Here's a picture of my son as fire cadet with the Edgewood Volunteer FD to cheer you up a bit




Brother I remember when you posted a pic of him as a little guy.

If you need any help on the fire career path I work with wisconsin regularly and have some contacts


If he doesn't already have his EMT I'm teaching an EMT class in December that's via zoom and it's only 800 bucks
He's actually attending the career campus at Anderson High School and studying Fire & Rescue. He will have all his certifications when he graduates. He is at the fire station now doing some sort of training.


That's incredible man.

If I can help let me know
ndwilky
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BlueGraySky said:

ndwilky said:

BlueGraySky said:

BlueGraySky said:

ndwilky said:

Here's a picture of my son as fire cadet with the Edgewood Volunteer FD to cheer you up a bit




Brother I remember when you posted a pic of him as a little guy.

If you need any help on the fire career path I work with wisconsin regularly and have some contacts


If he doesn't already have his EMT I'm teaching an EMT class in December that's via zoom and it's only 800 bucks
He's actually attending the career campus at Anderson High School and studying Fire & Rescue. He will have all his certifications when he graduates. He is at the fire station now doing some sort of training.


That's incredible man.

If I can help let me know
Will do. Thanks
syens1
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check out them aggies..down 17 to 0 lolololol

BlueGraySky
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syens1 said:

check out them aggies..down 17 to 0 lolololol




Arkansas was the easiest money of the week
irish4life
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cdr2529 said:

What is coach Lea number again?


He'll never be back at ND. Freeman is proving that a great DC can also recruit.
You don't have to be the Pied Piper in order to get great players you simply have to make an effort.
 
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