Tim Prister

The return of Ashton Craig to the starting lineup. Irish like one-two tight end punch of Cooper Flanagan and James Flanagan. Chris Ash on defending Wisconsin QB-Colton Joseph. Mike Denbrock on CJ Carr’s pre-snap wisdom. Marty Biagi’s admiration for PR-Jordan Faison’s preparation.

Aneyas Williams is projected to make his starting debut tonight in Lambeau Field. S-Luke Talich is one of five players in Irish history with touchdowns via the pass, interception and punt return. Irish seek 11th straight victory, two shy of Marcus Freeman's top mark set during '24 national-title game run.

Just as the Irish did five seasons ago, they came away with a 41-13 victory over Wisconsin. This one was more convincing than that fourth-quarter explosion in Soldier Field as the offense took flight in the second half and CB-DJ McKinney notched his first interception and touchdown in an Irish uniform.

Finding a complement to Jordan Faison among the wideouts and launching a ground attack without the spectacular nature of a Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price will be challenging. But the offense buckled down in the second half and the defense did an admirable job against Wisconsin's improved quarterback play.

A quick 14 points – a touchdown each by the offense and defense – turn a nip-and-tuck game into an Irish avalanche. Irish looking for a complement to Jordan Faison at receiver. Sullivan Absher, offensive line respond to the challenge in the second half of 41-13 victory over Wisconsin.

Of Freeman's 12 losses, three have come in the second game of the season, including setbacks to 20-point underdog Marshall and 28-point underdog Northern Illinois, both in Notre Dame Stadium. After taking the temperature of the room, a padded Tuesday practice was deemed in order.

For Notre Dame to achieve its goals in 2026, they'll rely on a defense that got off to a fast start, particularly in the red zone, and an offense that is a work in progress as the Irish try to strike a balance between CJ Carr's passing prowess with a still-developing receiver corps and a new set of running backs.

The Owls will be the first of two triple-option offenses on the '25 slate with the annual clash against Navy on Halloween. Notre Dame is experienced against this type of offense but not at defensive end. The Irish offense should be able to pick their score against a porous Rice stop unit.

Houston-based Rice University visits Notre Dame Stadium for the fourth time ever and the first since 2014. In 1988, Raghib “Rocket” Ismail decimated the Owls with a pair of kick returns for touchdowns. Notre Dame's 41-13 victory over Wisconsin proved to be a game of firsts for multiple new contributors.

The defense set the tone with a touchdown 14 seconds into the game. And while the stop unit would go on to pitch a shutout, the Irish offense racked up 478 total yards and six offensive touchdowns, including two each by Jordan Faison and Nolan James Jr.