To say Wisconsin’s season-opener against Notre Dame was a tale of two halves would be an understatement. On Saturday night at Camp Randall, if the Badgers can’t flip that script and dominate for 60 minutes, any hope of a successful season will go out the window. Taking on FCS Western Illinois, Wisconsin should have every opportunity to pick up its first victory, with reserves ideally having every opportunity to play in the second half.Coming off a week where it was the underdog at essentially every position, Luke Fickell’s group has the upper hand on paper across the board. Still, there’s a few positional matchups I’ll be paying close attention to this week.Interior defensive line versus Western Illinois run gameAfter holding Notre Dame to just over a yard-per-carry in the first half, the Irish’s offensive line took over in the second. CJ Carr is the headliner on that offense, but the run game looked dominant in the second half. Sebastian Cheeks had a big game, but outside of the veteran outside linebacker, there wasn’t a true standout along the defensive line for the Badgers. Notre Dame was clearly attempting to play fast to prevent Wisconsin from rotating linemen frequently, and it became apparent very quickly that it was working. Wisconsin defensive lineman DeNigel Cooper (93) rushes Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr (13) on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Notre Dame won the game, 41-13.