SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Training camp is less than three weeks away, which means Notre Dame football will soon offer some answers about this season.Until then, that’s what the Notre Dame Mailbag is for.Let’s talk schedule strength (or weakness), whether the receivers will actually be better, if Wisconsin is a trap game and whether Brian Kelly’s image makeover is working.(Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and length.)Are we overlooking this Wisconsin team in Week 1? I know they’ve been a dumpster fire under Luke Fickell, but they still have a solid defense, a new-look offense, and they were competitive in the second half of last season against Oregon and Indiana while beating Washington. Not saying we shouldn’t win handily, but a 20.5-point spread, combined with Marcus Freeman’s track record in September, has me wondering if this ends up being a tougher opener than most people expect. — Robert C.Sure, Wisconsin should be vastly improved this season. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Badgers doubled their win total after going 4-8. But that probably has more to do with their schedule than the fundamentals of the program itself, where Luke Fickell will be coaching for his professional life under a new athletic director. Instead of playing Alabama, Indiana, Oregon, Michigan and Ohio State … it’s Notre Dame, USC, Iowa, Penn State and Minnesota at the top of the schedule.It’s hard to overstate just how bad Wisconsin’s offense was last season, dead last in passing yards per game among Power 4 schools (183 yards per game) and second-to-last in pass efficiency among Power 4 programs (nine passing touchdowns, 13 interceptions and 6.0 yards per attempt). Colton Joseph is the new quarterback, an Old Dominion transfer. But a new-look offense clicking in Week 1 against arguably the best secondary in the country? Not seeing it.It wouldn’t shock me if Notre Dame’s offense labored on opening night at Lambeau Field, but winning 28-7 would still mean covering that spread.As for Freeman’s issues in September, which shouldn’t just be brushed aside despite the hype train around the program, the difference with Wisconsin being a trap is Fickell. This is where Freeman’s competitive gene probably ensures Notre Dame shows up ready at Lambeau. After hiring away half of Fickell’s staff the past few seasons, there’s probably a healthy animosity between the coaches that locks Freeman into a mode that prevents a Northern Illinois or Marshall or Stanford type of debacle.Is too much being made of the “weak” Notre Dame schedule simply because it’s tied to being independent, which non-ND folks just despise on principle? Because I don’t really recall the past three champions having their schedule picked apart quite like the Irish this preseason. — Terence M. Notre Dame’s schedule is bad. And it probably doesn’t matter.So I think the answer to your question is yes, probably too much is being made of this schedule and Notre Dame fans need to get comfortable with not caring about that criticism. There are hills to die on for Notre Dame fans, like academics, independence, history, etc. The quality of this year’s schedule isn’t one of them. Notre Dame doesn’t play a team that finished last season with a winning record until BYU on Oct. 17. And the bad teams on the schedule aren’t just bad, they might be from the bottom quarter of the Big Ten and ACC. It is what it is.This is all worth brushing off as long as Notre Dame handles business and wins at least 11 games. Because at that point, the Irish are locked into the College Football Playoff. It’s not like Indiana played some murderers’ row of opponents last season. Or Ohio State the year before that. Or Michigan the year before that. For how much people like to use the cliche of “iron sharpens iron” and the necessity of being battle-tested by a difficult schedule, there’s ample evidence that that’s just not the case.The schedule is a drag for fans who love the regular season. Unfortunately, it’s also a shrewd play for programs who want to make the College Football Playoff the bigger priority.You seemed to have a decent working relationship with Brian Kelly before his departure from Notre Dame. As he’s trying to improve his stock following the LSU dismissal, did you sense a change in your relationship or in how he interacted with you during last week’s interview? — Arnie G.There’s a misconception (I won’t use the term “mischaracterized” here) when it comes to Brian Kelly in 1-on-1 or small group interviews. He’s actually great in them and comes across as somebody you’d want to have a beer with and talk ball (even if that ball is a Titleist Pro V1). He’s relaxed in those settings and comes across as a regular-ish guy, which is a departure from how he’s been portrayed nationally thanks to his sideline demeanor and the way he can behave in press conferences.One of Kelly’s issues is he doesn’t put himself in that setting enough to let people into that orbit. I pitched Notre Dame for years on letting me shadow Kelly or do something all-access, basically to get a sense for what he’s like when the cameras are off. I was very close to getting the green light on an all-access piece before the 2019 season for the opening-week win at Louisville, but it fell apart in the week before the game.You’re right, Kelly is on a charm offensive, and he’ll probably need to keep this up for the next year. He’s got a lot of image rehabilitation to do while working in the media. And most of that rehab is necessary because of his behaviors in the past. I think you saw that in his interview last week when he talked about his departure from Notre Dame being mischaracterized and claiming that he never said Notre Dame couldn’t win a national title. Kelly claimed that he only said if he was going to leave Notre Dame, that it would be for a job where he could win it all.This is a distinction without a difference.If Kelly really wanted to lay the foundation for a reputational rehab, he should have just said, “I didn’t handle my departure from Notre Dame well. I underestimated what the program could be. I was wrong. And it’s been remarkable to watch Marcus Freeman push Notre Dame to a place I couldn’t.”But Kelly didn’t say that. He basically said the kinds of things you’d expect Brian Kelly to say after 12 years at Notre Dame. And that’s why I don’t think he’s changed a whole lot at all, including his working relationship with me. He was hard to get to know while he was the head coach at Notre Dame. And I suspect he’ll be hard to get to know moving forward.Returning wide receiver Jordan Faison was a key contributor for the Irish last season. (Justin Casterline / Getty Images)Do you truly believe the wide receiver room will be better than previous years? That group has been hyped before. Why is this year different? — Jack Z.Fair question. I think this group will be better, but I’d like to see it, too.Notre Dame didn’t spend in the portal to get Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham from Ohio State because it felt great about its returning talent. My optimism is based mostly on the returning production of Jordan Faison (quality) and the number of receivers the staff can throw at this problem in camp (quantity). It’s hard to imagine the room being better than last season if Porter and Graham don’t both hit or Jaden Greathouse doesn’t stay healthy or there’s not a surprise in the younger classes. That’s a lot of ifs beyond Faison.It’s also worth acknowledging that Malachi Fields was a very good college receiver and Will Pauling basically made Greathouse ghosting the offense a non-story. Both departing transfers seem to get overlooked in roster analysis of this season.My biggest reason for optimism with the receivers is CJ Carr. Because a returning starter at quarterback is the rising tide that lifts all boats. As much as Freeman talks about the offense being built around the run game, it’s Carr’s right arm that should make it go. And if Carr is as good as Notre Dame believes, the receiver room almost can’t help but produce.This isn’t a replay of three years ago when Notre Dame brought in Sam Hartman but failed to address the receivers in the offense. The Irish basically had a Group of 5 receiver room that season. The position clearly is Power 4 level now, even if it’s probably toward the bottom of CFP contenders. But with Faison returning, a host of incoming talent and a schedule that gives the offense a comfortable on-ramp into the season, it’s all set up for this year’s receiver group to be more solid than suspect.