The Wisconsin Badgers are a little more than two weeks away from taking on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sept. 6 to kick off the 2026 season. It’s a highly anticipated game, but one that is stacked against the Badgers. The Irish are ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll, and the Badgers are nowhere to be found in any poll, coming off a four-win season.
The Badgers are heavily doubted, and the opening line when the betting opened for this game was set at 18.5 in favor of the Irish, as presented by FanDuel. It has only moved away from the Badgers, and it’s now all the way up to 20.5, more than two weeks before the season. The anticipation is that it will hover around that mark, and if it does move, it’ll move further against Wisconsin. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
ESPN Matchup Predictor has the Badgers at only a 7% chance to beat Notre Dame. There aren’t many sites or experts predicting Wisconsin to have much of a fighting chance. It’s rare to find a serious person thinking the upset happens.
Wisconsin has some good news/bad news going on with this Week 1 betting line
Related: Which of Wisconsin’s 4 ranked opponents will still be ranked when they meet?…