It was a tough day to be a Wisconsin fan, as for the second time this year, the Badgers wasted a brilliant defensive performance because the offense just couldn't get the ball moving.
Don't let the 34-13 final score fool you: The Irish had under 250 yards of total offense, and were aided by a special teams touchdown and a pick-six late.
So again, just a disappointing effort, as the Badgers are now 1-2 this season, this after a 4-3 record last year. In all five of those losses, the team had 13 points or fewer.
So yeah, things are bad, and while there's plenty of blame to go around, there is one person feeling the most heat: Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz.
Came to Madison as a highly-rated recruit, and last year, a camp injury to Jack Coan - who ironically faced Coan on Saturday as Notre Dame's quarterback - opened up the starting spot for him. To his credit, Mertz took advantage of that opportunity, throwing for five touchdowns in a season opening win against Illinois.
All good, right? Just one problem: He has been awful since, with a grand total of five touchdown passes and nine interceptions. The Badgers are now 4-5 in those games since the Illinois season opener, with Mertz throwing five touchdowns and eight interceptions.
That's right, Mertz threw as many touchdowns in that season-opener last year, as he has in every game since.
And unfortunately, folks have caught up that he simply isn't good - and Badger fans let him have it on Saturday.
We'll see if things get any better for the Badgers next week when they return home... to face Michigan.
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