The Wisconsin Badgers suffered a tough 41-13 loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a game where they completely collapsed in the second half after keeping up well with a top-five team through 30 minutes.
Wisconsin’s defense looked the part early before falling apart, while the offense had some moments against a tough defense. Ultimately, they were outscored 28-3 in the second half, marking yet another blowout loss in recent years.
Still, with the outcome of the game, there were a few positives to take away and build on heading into Week 2.
Jeff Grimes’s creativity
The offense only scored 13 points, and the Badgers managed 284 yards, but I came away trending up on some of the stuff we saw from Jeff Grimes on Sunday.
The offensive line is going to be the ultimate dictator of this offense, and they looked to be a work in progress with some bright spots on Sunday. But I thought Grimes did his best to try and make some things easy for Colton Joseph, who had 217 passing yards, which was only topped once last season (Danny O’Neil vs. Middle Tennessee in Week 2).
Wisconsin had seven passing plays of 15+ yards, which includes some vertical shots and yards after the catch. With Notre Dame being aggressive defensively, the Badgers needed to take and win some 1-on-1 battles. That was a mixed battle, especially against Leonard Moore, but Malachi Coleman had a nice stutter go, blowing by his defender for a 28-yard touchdown.
I thought Grimes also used motion well, and that seems like it’ll be a key part of the offense. Wisconsin had a third down in the first half with three receivers at the top of the formation, with the boundary wideout motioning inside to run a quick drag route. Two Notre Dame defenders latched onto him (Tyrell Henry), leaving Chris Brooks wide open on a corner that probably would’ve gotten the Badgers a touchdown with a major miscommunication.
However, Joseph missed it, eyeing Henry, and threw an incompletion with two defenders converging, forcing a punt. Later, Grimes had another motion for Eugene Hilton on a separate third down with him running a trail route, getting open on the return and turning upfield for a good gain.
These are the easy throws and decisions that can help Joseph get into a rhythm. The quarterback has to get into a habit of taking some of the easier throws when defenders lay back, which I thought there were a few opportunities for (and Joseph hit some). Now, Notre Dame did have some quality coverage on a lot of plays, but I also thought Joseph was late with timing and anticipation on a number of throws.
In the run game, I’ll have to go back and watch the film, but it feels like pulling guards created some nice holes on Sunday earlier in the game. Grimes is still figuring out his personnel, but I thought the creativity was there on Sunday for the offense in the passing game.
Strong start
One of Wisconsin’s key issues in 2025 (and really throughout the Luke Fickell tenure) has been the sluggish starts before adjustments are made. That, to me, spoke to a preparation and game-planning issue heading into games.
I thought Wisconsin looked quite prepared to start the game on Sunday. Yes, they had an initial three-and-out, but the defense forced one of their own to start the game, and a blocked punt was the early momentum shifter that eventually got the Badgers a 3-0 lead on a drive where they started to churn the clock.
Notre Dame responded with an 11-play drive of their own, but Wisconsin was able to hold them to a field goal. Then came the fumble on the kickoff, which was a big gaffe, but the Badgers had a strong overall first half, limiting the run and mitigating the damage from Notre Dame’s offense.
Of course, that didn’t carry to the second half, where they struggled to adjust, and the Fighting Irish quickly took over, but it was an encouraging sign that Wisconsin could be competitive to start the game. Now, that needs to translate to 60 minutes of football.
1st Half run defense
It feels like Wisconsin might have something with its run defense. Yes, Notre Dame was figuring things out with some offensive line issues and new running backs, but I thought the Badgers had a number of good plays there in the first half.
It felt like the whole defense was aggressive in unison, getting to ball carriers quickly and wrapping up. I thought Hammond Russell had some nice plays on the interior, and Wisconsin kept guys fresh by continuing to rotate. The linebackers also made a number of plays, triggering well and forcing a lot of tough late-down situations for Notre Dame.
The defense started to fall apart in the second half, with tackling being an issue. But there is tape to look at and build off of. If only that can now be consistent over a 60-minute window.
Wisconsin still has a ways to go to be a good football team. But Sunday showed that there are some areas that they can tap into to improve and build on going into Week 2.
