Stingy Badgers brace for Coan, Fighting Irish

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin ranks second in the nation in total defense. The Badgers believe the unit has plenty of room to improve.

The next step is getting the ball back by producing turnovers rather than forcing punts.

Wisconsin (1-1) has only one takeaway through its first two games. That came on a fourth-quarter interception by Donte Burton in a 34-7 blowout of Eastern Michigan.

“Any chance we get to create turnovers, we’ve got to do it,” Wisconsin safety Scott Nelson said.

The 18th-ranked Badgers realize that will be difficult Saturday as they match up with former teammate

Jack Coan in a highly anticipated showdown with No. 12 Notre Dame (3-0) at Chicago’s Soldier Field.

Coan was Wisconsin’s starting quarterback for 18 games from 201819 but injured his foot last fall, lost his job to Graham Mertz and eventually transferred.

Wisconsin’s players respected Coan so much that a group of them, including Nelson, helped him move to Notre Dame’s campus earlier this year. They understand how well Coan protects the football.

Although Coan threw a pick six and lost a fumble in Notre Dame’s 32-29 victory over Toledo, he has been intercepted only 10 times out of 535 career pass attempts.

“He’s going to sit in that pocket and he knows how to read defenses really well,” Wisconsin linebacker Jack Sanborn said.

Wisconsin’s defense represents a tough test for a Notre Dame offense that has struggled because of an ineffective line.

Wisconsin has allowed an average of 194.5 yards, ranking only behind Iowa State (192.7) among FBS programs.

The Badgers are allowing an average of 33 yards rushing, the lowest of any FBS program. Wisconsin is 23rd in yards allowed per play (4.37) and eighth in yards allowed per carry (1.83).