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Wisconsin Football: Badgers-Fighting Irish matchup a ‘top 10 game’

By Christian Borman

Dec 30, 2020; Charlotte, NC, USA; Wisconsin Badgers hold up the winning trophy after beating Wake Forest at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2020; Charlotte, NC, USA; Wisconsin Badgers hold up the winning trophy after beating Wake Forest at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports /
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It may feel like it, but it is never too early to talk about the 2021 Wisconsin football schedule. They start the year with the Penn St. Nittany Lions. The Badgers will also face Michigan at home and will have Army and Eastern Michigan as a part of their non-conference schedule. But none of those games are going to get as much hype and recognition as another game on their slate.

On Saturday, September 25, the Wisconsin football team will travel to Soldier Field in Chicago to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. In fact, 247Sports put this game in their ‘Top 10 games that will shape the playoff race.’

The Badgers-Irish game comes at at number six.

This is going to be a big matchup early in the college football season. Michelle Chester (NCAA.com) and Adam Kramer (Bleacher Report) came up with too early ranking predictions for the 2021 season. They have Notre Dame starting the season ranked 13th and Wisconsin right behind them at 14.

Assuming both teams are undefeated entering this game, this could be a matchup between two teams ranked at or near the top 10.

To make things even more interesting, this will be a Jack Coan reunion game. Coan transferred to Notre Dame at the conclusion of the 2020 season, looking for a place to play.

Notre Dame had their spring game, and Greg Flammang from UHND.com had some thoughts on how Coan looked.

"It was all going really well until he threw that really bad pick to Shayne Simon on the short out route intended for Kyren Williams, which I really did not like. Beyond that, he looked like a winning quarterback for the football team.He looked as advertised to me, and the insertion of Michael Mayer and Kevin Austin as weapons will only enhance his options. As for the competition, Coan clearly looked to be the number one at the end of the day."

So, barring an injury, it looks like we will get a Jack Coan-Wisconsin football game this fall, which is something we can all look forward to. If the Badgers can get a win here, the rest of their schedule looks pretty favorable, traveling to Minnesota, but hosting Northwestern and Nebraska.