Wisconsin's football schedule is much more manageable this season, but it starts with a real doozy. The week one opponent is Notre Dame at Lambeau Field under the lights. It's a national stage and a national audience against one of the favorites for the College Football Playoff next season. It's a game most people have already chalked up a "L" for Wisconsin. National analyst Brad Crawford of CBS Sports says, not so fast.
Crawford identifies five teams on Notre Dame's schedule that could pull off the upset, and coming in at No. 4 is the Wisconsin Badgers in week one. In fact, he has a few reasons he thinks that the Badgers can pull it off; it's not just a shot-in-the-dark idea. Crawford says there are three reasons Wisconsin could pull off the massive upset.
1. Luke Fickell has all summer to prepare for Notre Dame
Crawford says, "Luke Fickell still lacks a signature win during a disappointing tenure at Wisconsin, but he will have the entire summer to prepare for the Irish." The counterpoint is that Notre Dame has all offseason to prepare, too, but Crawford's point is that Notre Dame is preparing for a playoff run and will be preparing for weeks two, three, and four, too. Luke Fickell wants and needs a signature win, and he will be hunting it in week one.
2. The Wisconsin transfers may accelerate the turnaround
Related: Wisconsin, Luke Fickell making serious push for 4-star Florida State safety commit
Crawford is honest that there's still a roster gap between the two programs, but the transfers into Wisconsin are a bit of a wildcard. He said, "If the new additions click quickly, it could accelerate the program's turnaround."
This has been an important key to the Luke Fickell offseason plan. He's worked on elevating every spot on the roster with more NIL money available. It may be hard for it to click in week one, but that's his goal.
3. Notre Dame stumbled in their opening start last season even with similar hype
Catch the Fighting Irish week one, says Crawford. That's what Miami did to Notre Dame last year, and Wisconsin could have a similar chance. Marcus Freeman is trying to avoid being known for poor starts to the year.
Crawford has already put that label on him: "Notre Dame stumbled in last season's highly anticipated opener at Miami after reaching the national championship game the year before. Another sluggish start would be a major blow to Freeman and his staff, given the praise the program received this offseason."
Luke Fickell won't be measured by the first game of the season, but Freeman might be. Fickell needs to excel in his Big Ten schedule this year to get off the hot seat, but an upset against the Fighting Irish would go a long way.
Add us as a preferred source on Google