ESPN has their 100 days piece out and they are running through all these storylines about Oregon and Georgia and Indiana and I cannot help but stare at that schedule we have coming. Notre Dame in South Bend on a late Tuesday night. A Tuesday night. Back in the 1998 season we went into that stadium and beat them 17-13 with Ron Dayne grinding out yards and our defense flying around like madmen. That was a Saturday afternoon in September where the whole country watched. Now they put us on a Tuesday night like we are some MAC school.
I remember when the Notre Dame game meant something special. It was a measuring stick. You walked into that cathedral of college football and you found out what you were made of. Barry Alvarez had us ready for those moments. We did not need NIL collectives and transfer portal shopping sprees to compete with the Fighting Irish. We built our offensive line the old fashioned way over three and four years and we ran the ball down their throats until they quit.
This 2026 team better understand what they are walking into. Notre Dame is sitting at number four in the national recruiting rankings with 18 top-300 prospects. They have been stockpiling talent while we are still trying to figure out this new model. A Tuesday night game in South Bend tells me everything about where this sport has gone. The tradition is gone. The pageantry is gone. It is all about TV windows and streaming deals now.
I will be watching though. I always watch. Just like I watched when we took that bus ride down to South Bend in 98 and showed them what Wisconsin football really looks like.