SOUTH BEND, Ind. – When Notre Dame kicks off its highly anticipated season Sunday night at Lambeau Field, it will bridge the gap between its football past and present. On the back of every golden helmet, Notre Dame will wear a decal honoring the late Lou Holtz, who died in March at 89 and was the last head coach to win a national title at a football program with 11 of them.For the first time since Holtz roamed the sidelines, it feels as if Notre Dame has an honest shot at a 12th. Head coach Marcus Freeman knows it, whether he wants to engage the topic or not. And Freeman isn’t running from any connection to Holtz as Notre Dame prepares to face Wisconsin (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC) on Sunday. In fact, Freeman has come to realize there’s a little bit of Holtz in how he runs the program.Urban Meyer coached under Holtz at Notre Dame. Luke Fickell coached under Meyer at Ohio State. And Freeman coached under Fickell, his own mentor on the other sideline Sunday night, at Cincinnati.“I think as you learn more about his coaching style and who he was, I think there’s a little bit of him in me,” Freeman said. “Honoring Lou Holtz is something that I was passionate about.”It all makes opening night as much an emotional release for Notre Dame as it is a debut. Honoring an iconic coach who led the Irish to a national title 38 years ago. Two-time captain Adon Shuler playing through the death of his father earlier this week. And Notre Dame processing nine months of angst after how last season ended with a College Football Playoff snub and bowl opt-out.Which college football teams are under the most pressure?Chris VanniniFreeman’s “Leave no doubt” mantra might as well be the new school fight song.We’re about to see how well the Irish know the lyrics.Here are three keys and one prediction heading into Sunday night.Was Luke Fickell serious about Leonard Moore?The point made sense, even if the Wisconsin head coach’s delivery didn’t quite land.Talking about All-American cornerback Leonard Moore this week — the 2024 national defensive freshman of the year and future top-five pick — Luke Fickell didn’t want to concede half the field to the junior. And that makes sense, because surrendering that much real estate before every snap makes everyone else’s job on the Notre Dame defense easier.“We’ve got to not think that we can’t go that direction,” Fickell said. “I’m not saying he’s not the best in the country. I’m not saying he’s not a top-two, -three pick in the country. But the idea is you’ve still got to be able to run your offense.“The thing that I love about what it is that we do is, we make people do everything, so he’ll have a chance to prove that he’s the best in the country.”Maybe that means Wisconsin runs to Moore’s side. Maybe it means the Badgers throw screens behind the line of scrimmage and make him tackle. Or maybe that means taking deep shots against a cornerback who allowed three completions of 20 yards last year — one by first-round pick Makai Lemon from USC. Will Wisconsin take a page from Stanford’s game plan last season, when Moore was targeted seven times, which turned into two catches for 9 yards with three pass break-ups and one interception? That’s a fair question, too.“Well, they have a game plan,” Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chris Ash said. “They have to execute it. Good luck to ’em.”Wisconsin starting transfer quarterback Colton Joseph might complicate how the Badgers deal with Moore. Joseph threw 10 interceptions at Old Dominion last season, including three against Indiana. He also led the Monarchs in rushing against the Hoosiers with 179 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Can Wisconsin challenge Moore without putting the ball in the air?Will Notre Dame be better in short yardage?Notre Dame aligned in a wildcat formation during the opening practice of training camp, snapping the ball directly to running back Aneyas Williams. There was no resistance because there was no defense and no pads. The drill lasted all of two snaps before Notre Dame returned to traditional offense, leaning on quarterback CJ Carr to handle the ball.It’s not clear how much wildcat might be back after it was part of Notre Dame’s short-yardage problems last season. The Irish converted on third-and-1 on just 6 of 11 attempts, which No. 131 nationally. They were 5 of 11 on fourth-and-1, which ranked No. 129. Of those 22 snaps, Notre Dame ran 19 times and converted barely half of them.All this from an offense that finished second in scoring and yards per play. To say there is room for improvement undersells how poor Notre Dame actually was.“We put a big emphasis on it in the offseason, and we’ve done it and done it, and done it and done it,” offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said. “Our defense has done everything you can possibly imagine to try to take it away from us, and they haven’t been able to do it yet.”Freeman didn’t totally agree with Denbrock’s assessment that Notre Dame’s defense had been defanged in short yardage during camp, but he conceded the offense had improved. Considering one of Carr’s assets is checking plays based on how the defense aligns, maybe Notre Dame will be better in short yardage by knowing what’s coming.Denbrock compared Carr’s pre-snap processing power to that of Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, whom Denbrock coached at LSU and helped become a No. 1 pick.“I think Jayden was really good at it … and I think CJ has really kind of taken that mantle,” Denbrock said. “… He’s as good as I’ve ever been around, whether that’s protecting himself or the run game.”CJ Carr is entering his second season as the Fighting Irish’s starting quarterback. (Justin Berl / Getty Images)How will Notre Dame rotate its receivers?Jordan Faison is a certainty. Jaden Greathouse and Mylan Graham feel like good bets. Everybody else in the receiver room is a question as Notre Dame tries to give Carr enough firepower to make the offense go. Notre Dame plans on playing six receivers Sunday night, but it’s not clear how those snaps will be spread out.“I’m interested to see how explosive we can be,” Faison said. “Just going out there, all the work we’ve been putting in throughout camp, throughout the summer, and being able to put out a display for the world to see.”Notre Dame has been optimistic about its receivers before, but they have yet to back it up under Freeman. The Irish haven’t had a receiver finish with 50 receptions in a season since Freeman took over — one of just three Power 4 programs to fail to hit that mark. But unlike past iterations, Notre Dame at least has options. Micah Gilbert, Elijah Burress and Matt Jeffery round out the top six. Quincy Porter, the other Ohio State transfer, remains out after knee surgery almost nine months ago.It won’t be a surprise if Notre Dame adjusts its receiver rotation this fall as some younger players grow. Devin Fitzgerald and Jerome Bettis Jr. both flashed in camp enough for the staff to want to see more.“They have to earn their way into that,” Denbrock said. “I think six is pretty close with some rotation amongst those guys a little bit. But the other guys have been given opportunities and for whatever reason either haven’t seized it or maybe aren’t ready yet.”How deep the Irish can go at receiver is maybe a story for October and beyond. For now, how the Irish rotate (or don’t) will indicate just how much depth Notre Dame actually has.PredictionThere’s a potential for Wisconsin to be caught on the business end of Notre Dame’s exhausting offseason, which began with being left out of the CFP way back on Dec. 7. And it wouldn’t be surprising if the Irish defense stunned the Badgers, who have issues at quarterback, receiver and offensive line. Unlike last season, when defensive coordinator Ash wasn’t fluent in his own personnel on opening night, nothing should be lost in translation Sunday night.Notre Dame’s offense might be more of a work in progress, though, with an unsettled offensive line that needs time to grow and a receiver rotation yet to click with Carr on game day, with the exception of Faison. There’s no reason for Notre Dame to let Wisconsin hang around through the fourth quarter. But expecting the Irish to be razor sharp on opening night might be a stretch.Notre Dame 31, Wisconsin 13