Imperfect Notre Dame Surges Past Wisconsin to Start Season-Defining Gauntlet

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

CHICAGO — Notre Dame is not the best team in the country. There’s a reasonable chance the Fighting Irish, who have reached the College Football Playoff in two of the last three years, aren’t even the premier team in the Midwest this season.

Flaws and all, however, they’re finding ways to win.

And in a year loaded with questions about the number of elite contenders, the result is far more impactful than the style. Saturday at Soldier Field, the Irish did it again. They navigated a fourth adequate showing to defeat the No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers 41-13.

From a glass-half-full perspective, consider it a complete team victory. Every area—offense, defense and special teams—made a substantial contribution.

Jack Coan tossed a 36-yard score to Kevin Austin Jr., and Chris Tyree returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Drew Pyne, Coan’s backup, led a short scoring drive to seal a strange blowout win, and the defense scored on two of its five takeaways.

But as Notre Dame enters a rough midseason stretch, the flow of Saturday’s game was an all-too-familiar sight.

Yes, the scoreboard showed a lopsided contest. The first 45 minutes told a much different story, though. Early in the fourth quarter, Wisconsin held a 13-10 lead. Notre Dame—to its immense credit—then turned the deficit into a rout.

The scorching finish overshadowed yet another slow start.

So far, Notre Dame has needed overtime to survive a bad Florida State team, a late comeback to clip Toledo and fourth-quarter surges to knock off Big Ten teams Purdue and Wisconsin. The glass-half-empty view is not unreasonable.

And from here, the competition level only rises.

Through the end of October, Notre Dame hosts No. 8 Cincinnati and travels to Virginia Tech. Following an idle weekend, the Irish welcome rival USC and No. 21 North Carolina to South Bend. Notre Dame has constantly flirted with danger, and this upcoming quartet will likely not be as forgiving.

Look, it’s still September. Every team in the nation has potential issues or weaknesses to address. Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, who passed program legend Knute Rockne for the most wins in school history with No. 106, acknowledged as much.

“I’m having fun coaching them,” Kelly told reporters afterward. “They’re not perfect by any means, but they’re going to be better in November. That energizes you as a coach.”

The challenge is reaching November with a truly glaring flaw on the offensive line.

Even excluding the six sacks it took Saturday, Notre Dame mustered just 42 yards on 26 carries. That continued a miserable trend to begin 2021. Last season, the Irish rushed for 5.6 yards per non-sack rush attempt. Through four games, they’re at 3.7 per non-sack carry. Wisconsin totaled 12 tackles for loss.

North Carolina entered Week 4 with a top-25 defense in yards allowed per carry, and Cincinnati’s strength is its defense. And both of their offenses are a whole lot more effective than the Badgers’ unit.

The bright side for Notre Dame is its D.

Drew WhiteCharles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz looked overwhelmed all game, and the Irish capitalized late. They forced five turnovers, including pick-sixes for Jack Kiser and Drew White in the fourth quarter. The touchdowns helped embellish the final score.

Each week, the defense has performed a little bit better. The unit has ceded 4.6 and 4.4 yards per snap in the last two games, holding both Purdue and Wisconsin to 13 points apiece.

Perfect timing, too, because what comes next should be challenging. North Carolina, led by quarterback Sam Howell, presents the largest test in that department. Cincinnati won the AAC behind Desmond Ridder last season, and USC’s Kedon Slovis—though he’s off to a rough start in 2021—has a talented supporting cast.

Notre Dame can handle any of those offenses, sure. Yet it’s obvious UNC, Cincinnati and USC are much better prepared to put pressure on Notre Dame than FSU, Purdue or Wisconsin.

Saturday’s win kept the Fighting Irish in the ranks of the undefeated.

For 45 minutes, it wasn’t pretty. For 15, it was beautiful. However, that combination matters less than the victory on the scoreboard; they passed the first of five important tests.

The next evaluations probably won’t be any more comfortable. But if the Irish keep finding a path to a victory, they can ugly-win their way through an October gauntlet and into the College Football Playoff race once again.

All recruiting information via 247Sports. Stats from NCAA.com, cfbstats.com or B/R research. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.