Lambeau Field on a Sunday night, and no Packers in sight
The setting felt odd. The Packers’ stadium, on a Sunday night in September, with two college teams taking the field. Notre Dame were the home side in name only, 220 miles from campus.
The Irish beat Wisconsin 41-13 in Green Bay on opening night of their season as part of the Shamrock Series.
Last season, Notre Dame dropped their first two games, then ripped off 10 straight wins. The College Football Playoff selection committee still shut them out, opting for Miami, who had beaten them in the opener. That one still stings.
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It was over in eight minutes
At halftime, it was 13-10. Nothing decided yet.
Notre Dame opened the third quarter with a nine-play, 70-yard drive. CJ Carr completed 4 of 5 passes for 51 yards on the march, including a 28-yard strike to Nolan James Jr. down to Wisconsin’s 6-yard line. Aneyas Williams finished it off from 3 yards out. 20-10.
On the next possession, DJ McKinney picked off a badly thrown Colton Joseph pass and returned it 55 yards. 27-10, with 8:52 left in the third quarter. Game over.
Carr finished 19 of 29 for 239 yards and two touchdowns. Williams rushed for 90 yards and scored twice.
Joseph lasted a half
Colton Joseph made his Wisconsin debut. The Old Dominion transfer was the Sun Belt Conference’s top offensive player last season.
He finished 19 of 30 for 217 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The one that changed everything.
Joseph had tied the game at 10-10 with 12:36 left in the second quarter, firing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Malachi Coleman, who was left completely free behind the defense.
Wisconsin had also blocked a punt on Notre Dame’s first possession, but then stalled at the 9-yard line and had to settle for a 27-yard Gavin Lahm field goal. Then Harrison Bortolotti muffed the kickoff, Kahanu Kia fell on it at the Badgers’ 13, and Carr found James Flanigan in the left flat four plays later. Flanigan played high school ball at Green Bay Notre Dame. Just a few miles away.
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