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Even though the campuses of Notre Dame and Wisconsin are only about 250 miles apart, the schools haven’t met in football in nearly 50 years. That ends on Saturday when the No. 12 Fighting Irish face the No. 18 Badgers in a Shamrock Series game at a neutral site in Chicago. who are favored on the NCAAF odds.

How to Bet Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin NCAA Football Odds & TV Info

When: Saturday, noon ET
Where: Soldier Field, Chicago
TV: Fox
Stream: Fox Sports Go
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAF Lines: Wisconsin -6.5 (total 46.5)

Series History

Wisconsin and Notre Dame have faced off 16 times previously, but not since 1964, and will meet as ranked opponents for the first time. The Irish own an 8-6-2 lead in the all-time series, including a win in the teams’ previous meeting at Soldier Field, in 1929.

Why Bet on Notre Dame?

The Irish (3-0) come off a 27-13 win over Purdue last Saturday. Notre Dame graduate transfer QB Jack Coan completed 15-of-30 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown pass came on a 39-yard score to running back Kyren Williams when Williams turned what would have been a three-yard reception into a long score. In the third quarter, Coan found wide receiver Avery Davis down the seam for a 62-yard score as Davis simply out ran Purdue’s defense into the end zone. With the win, Brian Kelly tied Knute Rockne for most wins all-time in Notre Dame history with 105.

Coan transferred from Wisconsin this offseason. He turned down a lacrosse scholarship at Notre Dame to play quarterback at Wisconsin, where he completed nearly 68% of his passes for 3,278 yards and 23 touchdowns against eight interceptions in 25 games. Coan was 12-6 as a starter there.

“It’s definitely going to be weird,” said Coan. “It’s going to be a lot of my friends I’m going to be playing against, guys I still talk to today.”

Linebacker JD Bertrand tied a career high in tackles with 12 against Purdue. He is the first Irish defender to have three consecutive games with double-digit tackles since Alohi Gilman in 2018-19 (Southern Cal, Clemson and Louisville). Notre Dame has totaled 13 sacks over the first three games of the season. It is the most sacks to start a season since 1996, when the Irish also had 13 sacks through the first three games.

Since the start of 2018, Notre Dame is 36-5 (.878). That rate ranks fourth among all teams who have made an appearance in the College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014. The Irish are 9-0 in Shamrock Series games since it began in 2009. This is the first Shamrock Series game since 2018, which was played at Yankee Stadium against Syracuse.

Why Bet on Wisconsin?

Wisconsin (1-1) opened with a loss vs. Penn State and then beat Eastern Michigan 34-7 – the Badgers were off last week. For this game, the Badgers will wear a special white “Forward” uniform set to honor the state of Wisconsin. The helmet and pants feature a version of the Motion W logo that includes the stripe from the Wisconsin state flag emblazoned with the state motto, “Forward.”

After running for 121 yards in his Badgers debut, transfer Chez Mellusi carried 20 times for 144 yards (7.2 ypc) a week later vs. Eastern Michigan, becoming the first Badger to record consecutive 100-yard performances in his first 2 games at UW since Corey Clement did so as a true freshman in 2013 (101 vs. UMass, 149 vs. Tennessee Tech).

Wisconsin leads the nation in fewest rushing yards allowed this season, giving up just 33.0 per game. Over the last 6 years, UW has allowed an average of 108.0 rushing yards per contest, second only to Alabama (106.2 ypg) among Power Five teams in that time. The Badgers have held the ball for better than 40 minutes in each game this season and lead the nation in average time of possession, at 40 minutes, 57 seconds per game. Army ranks No. 2, at 40:47.

Senior tight end Jake Ferguson ranks No. 2 among active FBS tight ends, with 111 career receptions. He trails only Iowa State’s Charlie Kolar (114). Ferguson ranks No. 3 among active FBS tight ends in receiving yards, with 1,237 to his name. He trails only Kolar (1,528) and Memphis’ Sean Dykes (1,324).

Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst owns a 1-1 mark vs. Notre Dame, splitting his two meetings with the Fighting Irish during his time as head coach at Pittsburgh. Chryst also was offensive coordinator at Oregon State when the Beavers handed the Irish a 38-21 loss in the 2004 Insight Bowl.