On Monday, news came out from Chicago Tribune then confirmed by Green Bay Packers chairman Mark Murphy that Wisconsin and Notre Dame are looking to play each other in two games on two neutral locations. The first game would be played at Soldier Field, and the second would be at Lambeau Field. Both have exciting appeal to each fan base, and it appears that it’s close to a reality. This is good for both schools and for college football in general.

Wisconsin and Notre Dame have not met since 1964. That’s hard to believe considering both schools have been pretty good in the last couple decades, and you would have thought their paths would cross during a bowl game. It never did. Irish do hold the overall head-to-head record versus Badgers, but I wouldn’t put too much stock into that.

For venue purposes, Notre Dame owed the Chicagoland area a football game at some point. Irish play at neutral sites all over the country, and they still hadn’t made it to Chicago where they have a majority of their fans and alumni. Part of the reason is Soldier Field. It’s not a premier location for football, rather, a state-run stadium that doesn’t get the love and care it needs on a regular basis. Throw in Wisconsin’s base in Windy City, and tickets will be impossible to find. Additionally, this will be a major draw for NBC in a likely primetime game.

Lambeau Field should be Badgers’ home for a game at least once every four years. Mike Heller made this point on his radio show yesterday, and I think it’s the perfect idea. The reason is why is for Badgers to leverage Lambeau as a recruiting tool where Paul Chryst and coaches can say ‘No matter what happens with your career, you’ll have one game on an NFL field with a storied tradition.’ This plays well with recruits especially those who live in the state of Wisconsin. Badgers can continue to pick out prominent schools where it would be an excited draw from their traveling fans.

I would expect this news to come up sooner rather than later. Hopefully, this game gets played in the coming years versus a decade from now. Keep an eye on 2019 where Badgers have an open spot on their calendar for September 14th.

Charlie.