Ahead of the Notre Dame football team's season opener, the Wisconsin Badgers got some good news and some bad news. Of course, it's also possible that the Fighting Irish got nothing but good news to go along with the announcements.
Two Badgers offensive linemen, Emerson Mandell and Kevin Heywood, have been questionable all week to play. According to insider Pete Thamel, Heywood is expected to play, but Mandell is not. However, no further details were given. Heywood finally getting to start could be good news for Wisconsin as it tries to keep its offensive line intact and ready to roll for the season.
So how is the return of a starting offensive lineman good news for Notre Dame? The long and short of it is that this particular starting lineman didn't play a single game in 2025. He only played in seven games in 2024. And that year, he had just 72 snaps.
If there's a position the Irish defensive line should attack, it is at right tackle, where Heywood is playing. Of course, there's also an opening there at right guard with the fill-in starting against one of the most ferocious defensive units in the sport this year.
Notre Dame football defensive line should test Kevin Heywood and Wisconsin early
It's not even just that the defensive line could savage Heywood. It's the first game of the season, and the Badgers are already looking at the depth chart and deciding who will be the next man up along the offensive line. Head coach Luke Fickell and his staff know that they're in a make-or-break season.
Notre Dame has a chance to "break" the Wisconsin season before it really starts. The best way to do that is to make life incredibly tough for Colton Joseph, and the best way to do that, obviously, is to make him run for his life on every single passing play.
The news that the Badgers delivered about their offensive line could be the opening the Notre Dame football team needs to blow out Wisconsin and start their season on the right foot, while beginning the end of Luke Fickell.
Add us as a preferred source on Google