Notre Dame showed some improvement last week in its 27-13 win over Purdue.

The Irish offense was able to muster up a running game - although it was still limited - while the defense stepped up and looked more like what was expected this season.

But there is no doubt that the Irish still need a lot of improvement in many areas.

The Purdue victory was not assured until the fourth quarter, even though the defense was keeping the Boilermakers in check

Marcus Freeman’s defense didn’t give up the big play as it did in the prior two games. In trying to get a run game going, ND used an extra offensive lineman at times to help with blocking.

At 3-0, the Irish still have dreams of moving up in the rankings and making a College Football Playoff run. To do so, they will need to take advantage of a schedule that includes a number of ranked teams over the next several weeks.

Today’s contest against No. 18 Wisconsin is the beginning of five-game stretch where the Irish will play teams that are either currently ranked or were at one time this season. It includes home games against Cincinnati, USC and North Carolina, and a road trip to Virginia Tech

ND and Wisconsin will meet today at Soldier Field in Chicago. It will be the first meeting between the teams since 1964. The Badgers are coming off a bye week and enter at 1-1 with an opening loss to Penn State at home, 16-10, and a win over Eastern Michigan, 34-7.

Notre Dame leads the series with the Badgers, 8-6-2. Wisconsin comes into the game ranked No. 1 in rush defense, which is a big problem for the young Irish offensive line.

Wisconsin likes to run the ball and control the clock, keeping the ball out of the hands of its opponent. It will be up to the ND defense to carry them in this came by forcing Wisconsin to give up the ball and not control the time of possession.

The game will be televised nationally on Fox TV with a noon airtime and a 12:10 p.m. or so, kickoff. The two teams were scheduled to play last year at Green Bay, as a ND home game, but it was canceled due to COVID 19.

IRISH NOTES ... Kyren Williams’ score with 6:05 remaining sealed the victory for the Irish. For the game, Notre Dame’s running game was not that great, but it did show signs of life. ND had 120 yards rushing on 34 carries for the game and a TD. ND had 343 yards of total offense compared to 348 for Purdue. Williams had 91 yards on 12 carries, including a 51-yard for his TD. Chris Tyree added 29 yards on 11 carries and Tyler Buchner gained 24 yards on three carries. Avery Davis caught five passes for 120 yards and a score, including a 62 yard TD. Jack Coan was 15 for 31 for 223 yards an two TDs. His passing was far from accurate against Purdue. He will need to be better today against his old school ... Defensively, JD Bertrand continues to impress with 10 tackles to lead the team. He was followed by Isaiah Pryor with eight and DJ Brown with seven ... According to ESPN stats and info, the current AP top 25 teams have combined to lose 19 games so far - the most through three weeks of any season in the poll era from 1936 to present ... The only unbeaten team left on ND’s schedule is Cincinnati at 3-0. ND and Cincinnati meet next week in South Bend ... Junior safety Kyle Hamilton is near the top of the national rankings with three interceptions in three games. He is in a eight-way tie for first in interceptions per game. Bertrand moved up four spots to No. 5 in tackles per game at 11.7 ... The Badgers play great defense, but their struggles have been at quarterback. Redshirt sophomore Graham Mertz has a 110.0 pass-efficiency rating and is 98th nationally. Coan is 38th at 155.5. ... Last week’s game was another non-sellout for at Notre Dame Stadium. ... 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 ... With the win over Purdue, the Irish extended their home winning streak to 26 games. It is the longest home winning streak in the program’s modern era ... Notre Dame also extended its win streak over unranked opponents to 35 games with the win over Purdue. The Irish have not lost to an unranked opponent since the 2016 season (Virginia Tech) ... Head coach Brian Kelly tied Knute Rockne for the most wins in program history after securing his 105th win over Purdue ... ESPN will be in Chicago today for its popular traveling pregame show - College GameDay. The site chosen generally signifies that the game sits at the epicenter of the college football universe in a particular week. It will be the 33rd time Notre Dame is involved. The Irish are 14-18 all time in games in which GameDay visits, including a split of the two ND-Clemson games last season .... Today’s game is at the home of the NFL Chicago Bears. The Irish haven’t had much luck in NFL stadiums in the past five seasons. Last season Notre Dame beat Pittsburgh in Heinz Field, home of the Steelers, lost the ACC Championship game to Clemson in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers, and the College Football Playoff semifinal to Alabama in Arlington’s AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. The Irish also lost to Clemson in the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal at AT&T Stadium. The 2017 season included a loss to Miami at Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the Miami Dolphins, in Miami Gardens, Fla. ... In my preseason picks, I have the Irish winning today, but as I wrote last week, it appears every game this year will be an adventure for Irish fans. I give the edge today to the Badgers, based on their strong defense and ball-control offense.