Wisconsin Notre Dame Schedule Non-Conference Set

Wisconsin and Notre Dame will play a sort of home-and-home series starting in 2020

A well-choreographed press conferenced announced what we already knew.  Wisconsin and Notre Dame are playing a pair of non-conference games in 2020 and 2021.

The first meeting will be on October 3, 2020 at Lambeau Field.  That was a hospitable environment for Wisconsin last fall against LSU.  The next matchup is September 25, 2021, at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Wisconsin and Notre Dame last met in Madison in 1964 when the Irish thumped the Badgers 31-7.

"The Irish and Badgers have played on 16 previous occasions, with Notre Dame leading the series 8-6-2"

This is a high profile non-conference opponent for Wisconsin.  But that’s based more on Notre Dame’s past than its present.

The Irish have posted approximately four season with double digit wins since 1994.  Notre Dame is 4-12 in Bowl Games in that time period.  The Badgers have 10 seasons with double digit wins since 1994.   Wisconsin is 12-9 in Bowl Games since 1994.

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Nonetheless, Andy Baggot from UWBadgers.com notes the program similarities since 1990.  Of course, 1990 is when Barry Alvarez came to Madison and turned the program around.

I’m sure there are a great number of Wisconsin Badger fans excited for this mini-series with Notre Dame.  I’m just not one of them.  Look, I’m all for adding a little sizzle to the Wisconsin non-conference slate.  But Notre Dame is not what I have in mind.

I recognize non-conference scheduling is hard.  You schedule games far in advance so you’re projecting opponents.  Perhaps by 2020 Notre Dame is again among the college football elite.  But let’s not mistake what drives this deal.

I’m sure Notre Dame and Wisconsin will be a fun atmosphere. Hopefully the UW Athletic Department profits handsomely from the deal.

Notre Dame’s popularity and national recognition has very little to do with its recent on-field success.  I would rather see Wisconsin play somebody from a power conference like the Pac-12, Big-12, or SEC.  Those do more to help the cause for postseason positioning.  The power conference schools play other power conference teams thus making a win more valuable and a loss less damaging.

The upcoming Wisconsin non-conference schedule is cluttered with some decent if not spectacular opponents (Central Michigan, Syracuse, Western Kentucky, New Mexico, North Texas, South Florida, Hawaii).   But not many power conference schools on the future slate.

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My preferred non-conference schedule doesn’t conflict with Big Ten play.  It also has Wisconsin start by feasting on a couple cupcakes.  These games help Wisconsin ease into the season and iron out any problems in preparation and execution.  The idea is to ramp up the competitiveness and intensity into Big Ten play.  The final piece is finding opponents you can reasonably project play a similar style to teams you’ll see in the Big Ten.