Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 12, 2026 25 0 of 6 On third-down conversions for Notre Dame against Wisconsin during the first half. The Irish offense went 3 of 3 in that category in the second half en route to scoring three touchdowns in the final 30 minutes. 1st Career touchdown reception for sopho- more tight end James Flanigan, a 3-yard connection with junior quarterback CJ Carr, came in his hometown of Green Bay. In addition, his father (Jim Flanigan Jr.) and grandfather (Jim Fla- nigan Sr.) both played for the Packers during their respective NFL careers. 2 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) games have been played at Lambeau Field, the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers (St. Norbert and Ford- ham also played at Lambeau in 1983). In the first FBS matchup on Sept. 3, 2016, Wisconsin upset No. 5-ranked LSU 16-14. That remains the Bad- gers' most recent win versus an Associated Press top-five team. In the second FBS matchup, Wisconsin — a three-touchdown underdog against No. 4 Notre Dame — trailed just 13-10 at halftime before get- ting outscored 28-3 in the second half. 6th Consecutive year the Irish have begun the season away from home, the longest consecutive such stint in program history. 7 Straight victories in neutral-site season open- ers for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame is now 8-1 in those contests dating back to a 36-13 tri- umph over Virginia in the Kickoff Classic at Giants Stadium on Aug. 31, 1989, in East Rutherford, N.J. 9 Different receivers caught passes for Notre Dame: senior wide receiver Jordan Faison (4 for 81 yards), sophomore running back Nolan James Jr. (4 for 67 and 1 TD), junior wide receiver Micah Gilbert (3 for 34), junior tight end Cooper Flanagan (2 for 13), sophomore tight end James Flanigan (2 for 13 and 1 TD), junior running back Kedren Young (1 for 11), junior running back An- eyas Williams (1 for 11), senior wide receiver Jaden Greathouse (1 for 6) and fifth-year tight end Ty Washington (1 for 6). 10 Pick sixes for Notre Dame since the start of the 2024 season, with fifth-year corner- back DJ McKinney's 55-yard score against the Bad- gers. His theft marks the sixth consecutive season the Irish returned an interception for a touchdown, the program's longest streak in the 21st century (surpassing 2004-08). 29 Yards rushing on 16 carries for Notre Dame in the first half against Wisconsin, less than all 12 first-half totals the Irish produced dur- ing the 2025 season. The Irish ranked fourth in the FBS with 5.7 yards per carry last year, but managed just 1.8 in the first 30 minutes against the Badgers. Notre Dame finished with 111 yards on the ground after running 16 times for 82 yards (5.1 per carry) and 2 touchdowns in the second half. 52 Yards on sophomore kicker Spencer Po- rath's first career field goal for the Fighting Irish. He went on to add a 26-yarder later in the first half. Last year, the Irish didn't make a single 50-yarder, were only 5 of 9 on field goals for the entire season and didn't make any field goals after Oct. 11, 2025. Porath's 52-yarder was the 25th field goal of 50 or more yards in Notre Dame history. Porath is now the 11th different kicker in Notre Dame history to make a field goal of 50 yards or more. 55 Yards on McKinney's pick six, his first pick as a member of the Fighting Irish and the fifth of his career. It was the second career pick six for McKinney, who had one in 2024 with Colorado. Notre Dame now has four pick sixes against Wis- consin, including three in the past two meetings: Mike Lyden 35 yards in 1943, Jack Kiser 66 yards in 2021, Drew White 48 yards in 2021 and McKinney 55 yards in 2026. $170 Was the most expensive get-in ticket price for the Wisconsin– Notre Dame matchup per Front Office Sports. It was the most expensive game during Week 1 of the college football season, edging out the Clem- son-LSU game ($110). 2018 Was the last time Notre Dame had a punt blocked by an opponent, prior to Wisconsin fifth-year linebacker Liam Danitz do- ing so versus Irish freshman punter Jasper Scaife on his first career attempt. It set up a short field for the Badgers, who cashed in for a field goal and an early 3-0 lead. It proved to be their only lead of the game in the 41-13 setback. The last time it happened was when North- western's Cameron Ruiz blocked a punt by Notre Dame's Tyler Newsome in the fourth quarter on Nov. 3, 2018. It helped the Wildcats cut their defi- cit to 24-21, but the Irish also prevailed in that contest, 31-21. BY THE NUMBERS BY STEVE DOWNEY 24th Player in Notre Dame history to reach 100 career receptions is senior wide receiver JORDAN FAISON. He reached triple digits on his 30-yard catch in the second quarter against Wisconsin. His 1,399 career receiving yards ranks 23rd all time in program history. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER