College football: All eyes on Notre Dame-Wisconsin at Soldier Field

By Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Columnist

There is a lot on the line as college football invades Soldier Field this weekend. All you need to do is take your pick as to what tickles your fancy.

There is history of the most storied kind, with Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly just one win away from claiming his school’s all-time win record, a mark that would push him past Irish icon Knute Rockne to 106.

There is the opportunity for Wisconsin to either save its hopes of remaining in contention for the College Football Playoff or likely see that dream disintegrate into nothing before the end of September.

There is the chance to see whether perhaps the most imperfect "perfect" record in the sport holds up, with Notre Dame having somehow managed to cling to 3-0 despite looking desperately shaky in sneaking past Florida State, Toledo and Purdue.

And for Wisconsin to come face-to-face with its former QB, Jack Coan, who moved over as a graduate transfer at the end of last season.

The two teams haven’t met for 57 years and it’s a red-hot ticket, averaging $400 on the secondary market, with prime seats going for up to $1300.

Matt Leinart sees all the storylines and likes each one of them. For him, however, it will be all about one thing on Saturday.

"The atmosphere," Leinart said. He missed it, more than he thought he would.

"I think over time we took for granted how much the fan culture and experience means to college football," Leinart, a Heisman Trophy winner and national champion during his time at USC, told me via telephone. "With the pandemic and how things changed, it makes you realize even more just how special it is. It matters in every sport. In college football it is everything."

Leinart has reveled in being part of FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff show around the country so far this season, seeing fans and students once again able to fully enjoy the college football experience, with all the noise, color and passion that it brings.

Notre Dame and Wisconsin will bring the intensity and fun to Chicago. Expect a sea of green lining the streets around Soldier Field and for House of Pain’s traditional Jump Around to get the Wisconsin faithful hopping between quarters.

The FOX Big Noon Kickoff show will broadcast from the east side of the stadium at 9 a.m. CT and is open to spectators. Despite Notre Dame being No. 12 in the rankings to Wisconsin’s No. 18, the Badgers are a solid 5.5-point favorite at FOX Bet.

"It is going to be tough and tenacious between two programs that play physical smashmouth football, with big linemen and an old school feel," Leinart added.

Former Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn told Colin Cowherd on FS1’s "The Herd" that Kelly had built his brand on an outstanding offensive line.

"He has been there long enough to where he's found out the identity of what they can recruit to and how they can play to that," Quinn said. "You'd be hard-pressed to find an offensive lineman, a tight end that doesn't want to go to Notre Dame."

Notre Dame finds itself in an interesting spot. The Irish have made the playoff in two of the last three seasons and have overwhelmingly bounced back from the lowest point of Kelly’s tenure, a 4-8 record in 2016 that included a swath of narrow defeats.

But Notre Dame hasn’t won a national title in 33 years, the longest drought in program history, and Kelly is aware that for all his wins, that’s how he’s going to be judged.

"Everything’s about winning a national championship, and I knew that coming in," Kelly said.

As for Wisconsin, an opening game defeat to Penn State was a setback, but not one that necessarily spells doom. A victory on Saturday could set the Badgers up for a big October that includes games against Michigan and Iowa.

"We are excited to get back to playing, coming off a bye week," Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst told reporters. "I’m excited for our kids to be involved in games that are meaningful. There is more around this game both for our fans and nationally. And I think that’s why kids come here to be part of that."

It is a game that matters in all kinds of ways that a contest between two high-profile programs should, but it matters for how it’s going to feel and sound, too. That’s what college football has always had, and that’s what it has missed.

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider Newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.