The early Wisconsin–Notre Dame odds are flat-out disrespectful and rightfully so

The Wisconsin Badgers open the 2026 season against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. One team is considered to be a National Title hopeful and a shoe-in for the College Football Playoff. The other is considered a patch-work quilt hoping to be bowl eligible. You can figure out which is which and the early odds for the game will show it clearly.

FanDuel has the opening odds already set for Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame, and guess what? The Badgers are 19.5 underdogs. Wisconsin has them right where they want them. Can't spell underdogs without dogs.

Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame is already considered a lopsided win for the Irish according to Vegas

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The odds are right where they should be, let's be honest. The Badgers are coming off a season in which they struggled to find wins, while Notre Dame only missed the playoffs by one single win. This means Vegas knows the capacity of one team is higher than the other.

It's also right where it should be for where Wisconsin fans would want it. This year is a litmus test for Luke Fickell. It seems like he did everything right in the transfer portal and this offseason, but the results on the field will matter. The Notre Dame game needs to be a very important litmus test. The Irish are the type of team the Badgers struggled with last season, beating only Washington at that level.

Often, Wisconsin was blown out by teams like Notre Dame. The Badgers don't need to win it but they do need to be respectable and maybe, just maybe, they can shock the world by actually pulling it off and knocking off what will presumably a ranked Notre Dame team.

For now, 19.5 is about where it should be, but it also shows Vegas isn't bought into Luke Fickell's plan. At least not yet.