You won’t find many harder tests than what the Wisconsin Badgers have to face in just a few days’ time against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
However, whether they win or lose, the Fighting Irish will serve as a great litmus test for how well the Badgers can compete ahead of a schedule that will provide several opportunities for winnable games to slowly push them back into the spotlight.
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But before they can get to those fixtures, there are two questions that must be answered.
Last season, against power-conference opposition, the Badgers scored more than 10 points just twice. Combine that with an offense that totaled just 253.1 offensive yards per game (135th-worst in the FBS). While no one is expecting this to be a 500-yard week one showing, will they do enough to keep themselves in the game, or will they continuously stall?
The Badgers compiled a 63.64% field goal rate in 2025, good for 116th in the nation. With 5th-year kicker Gavin Lahm set to take the mantle this season with zero field goals to his name, his production is unknown, and in a game like this against a team like Notre Dame, three points here and there could make all the difference.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Two questions Wisconsin football must answer vs. Notre Dame in Week 1
