GREEN BAY — Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell acknowledged the challenge of facing No. 4-ranked Notre Dame at Lambeau Field on September 6, 2026, while managing uncertainty regarding injured offensive linemen Kevin Heywood and Emerson Mandell. The Badgers are a 20.5-point underdog against the Fighting Irish in the season opener.

Fickell addressed the status of his offensive line during a press conference, noting that decisions on player availability remain fluid. "That's why I said there's a lot of unknowns because we don't know [about whether they can play]," he said. "And, you know, there's still some time for us. Those guys have been back in some capacity, but I couldn't tell you exactly where we are to date right now."

Heywood sustained a lower-body injury on the second day of fall camp, while Mandell underwent foot surgery in the offseason. Both players took some reps recently, but their participation in the opener will be a game-time decision.

Lucas Simmons-Johansson has taken reps at right tackle for Wisconsin, while Blake Cherry and Stylz Blackmon have rotated at right guard. Hammon Russell IV and Junior Poyser are also listed as tackles for the team. Fickell emphasized the need for caution with the unit.

"I think this is where we have to be smart in all the things we're doing," he said. "And we know this is a huge game in Game 1 and kicking off the way we're kicking off in Lambeau against Notre Dame. But we also understand there's a journey here."

Marcus Freeman is the head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Freeman played for Fickell at Cincinnati and coached on his staff there. Fickell was the head coach at Cincinnati from 2017 to 2021, leading the Bearcats to a 53-27 record and one College Football Playoff appearance in 2017. Fickell was a finalist for the Notre Dame head coaching job in 2021 when Brian Kelly left for LSU.

Freeman has a 43-12 record as head coach at Notre Dame, including a College Football Playoff national championship game appearance in 2025. Gino Guidugli is the quarterbacks coach at Notre Dame, Mike Brown is the receivers coach, and Joe Rudolph is the offensive line coach. Chris Ash is the defensive coordinator, Aaron Henry is the co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach, and Charlie Partridge is the defensive line coach. Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are running backs for Notre Dame, and CJ Carr is a quarterback.

Fickell reflected on his approach to coaching and the evolving landscape of college football. "If you sleep on the game, you'll wake up one day, and you'll be passed by," he said. "You'll forget what to do. I always thought that was scheme to me. Like right, you are continuing to evolve in the scheme of things. The truth of the matter is it's not recognizing what's going on within the landscape of things." He added that he had been naive in the past.

"I'm not naive. I don't want to be naive. I think for a couple years, at least for a year and a half, I was pretty naive," Fickell said.

Fickell also commented on the pressure of the position. "There are easy ways to go about it. And I think there are people out there that do take some easy ways," he said.

He used strong language to emphasize that such shortcuts would not be tolerated at Wisconsin, stating that the seat could not get much hotter than it already was. He noted seeing the growth of Notre Dame's program from afar. "Seeing the growth of that program and team from afar, there's a part of it that makes you happy about it," Fickell said. "It not surprising to me at all."

Wisconsin has not won more than 10 games in a season since 2019, with only three seasons of 10 or more wins since 2010. The Badgers have not been ranked in the preseason or final AP poll since 2019. Fickell has overseen two losing seasons at Wisconsin.

Paul Chryst was fired as Wisconsin head coach during the 2022 season. Fickell was named the University of Wisconsin football's 31st head coach on Nov. 27, 2022. Fickell is the first head coach to lead a Group of Six team to the College Football Playoff. Wisconsin has won 99 games in the College Football Playoff era without receiving an invitation.

Wisconsin scored fewer than 14 points in eight of its last nine games. The Badgers defeated Illinois 27-10. Notre Dame is 1-5 in the Marcus Freeman era when running the ball 28 times or fewer.

Wisconsin will play Penn State on September 26, 2026, UCLA on October 17, 2026, and USC on October 24, 2026. The Badgers will play Western Illinois and Eastern Michigan after Notre Dame. Notre Dame will host Rice and then Michigan State after Wisconsin.

Why It Matters

Wisconsin enters the game as a significant underdog, reflecting a period of decline for the program. The Badgers have not won more than 10 games in a season since 2019 and have not been ranked in the AP poll since that year. Injuries to key offensive linemen Kevin Heywood and Emerson Mandell add uncertainty to the team's preparation. The game marks the resumption of a series interrupted by the pandemic, with the previous meeting in 2021 resulting in a 41-13 victory for Notre Dame.

Timeline

Wisconsin won the first meeting against Notre Dame 54-0 in 1900. Wisconsin defeated LSU 16-14 in Green Bay in 2016. Notre Dame defeated Wisconsin 41-13 in their last meeting in 2021.

Luke Fickell was named the University of Wisconsin football's 31st head coach on Nov. 27, 2022. Notre Dame reached the College Football Playoff national championship game in 2025. The game between Wisconsin and Notre Dame will be played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Wisconsin will play Notre Dame on September 6, 2026.

What's New

Luke Fickell said, "That's why I said there's a lot of unknowns because we don't know [about whether they can play]. And so that'll be a little b".

Fickell said, "I think that there's a depth to things. I still think that, like anything, I think when you get into fall camp, the hardest position is on the O-line. The nature of where we are, with maybe playing 8, 9 guys up front on the defensive line, with the ones, they can't do that. They". He said, "We know this is a huge game in week one. To kick it off, we're kicking off in Lambeau against Notre Dame, but we also understand there's a journey here. And so, you know, there's a part of this thing that we've got to make sure that as we get closer towards game time, we do the t". He said, "seeing the growth of that program and team from afar, there's a part of it that makes you happy about it… It not surprising to me at all." Marcus Freeman played for Luke Fickell at Cincinnati. Marcus Freeman coached under Luke Fickell at Cincinnati. Luke Fickell was the head coach at Cincinnati from 2017 to 2021, leading the Bearcats to a 53-27 record and one College Football Playoff appearance in 2017. Luke Fickell was a finalist for the Notre Dame head coaching job in 2021 when Brian Kelly left for LSU.

How Sources Differ

Sources differ on details regarding Luke Fickell. The University of Wisconsin Athletic Department roster states that Luke Fickell is the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers. NCAA Football Records states that Luke Fickell won 53 games in five seasons as head coach at Cincinnati.

Sources differ on details regarding Notre Dame. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via newsdata states that Wisconsin's Week 1 game against Notre Dame was rescheduled from 2020, when Big Ten teams did not play any nonconference games during the pandemic. The Wisconsin Badgers 2026 football schedule states that Wisconsin will play Western Illinois and Eastern Michigan after Notre Dame.