Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema, via his Twitter page yesterday, mentioned that the Badgers are “trying to lock up a home and home contest with Notre Dame or Nebraska for the future.”
That news would seem to jive with the reports that linked the Badgers and the Irish together last season, when Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez mentioned that the two schools were negotiating a series.
Bielema mentioned that the game would be in Madison in 2012 and a trip to either South Bend or Lincoln in 2015. Taking a look at the tentative 2012 schedule, this seems to work with the Irish. If we assume Notre Dame is still trying to fulfill the 7-4-1 model, the Irish have their neutral site game locked down with the season opener in Dublin, Ireland against Navy. The three away games on the schedule right now are at Michigan State, a high-profile matchup against Oklahoma in Norman, and the biannual trip to Los Angeles to play USC the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
The Huskers have away dates at UCLA, Texas Tech, Iowa State, Oklahoma, and Kansas State. They’ve got five home games locked in with two open dates left on their schedule.
Alvarez has connections to both programs, making it a logical match for them regardless of what direction they go. He was a defensive coordinator for the Irish under Lou Holtz and was a linebacker in the 1960s for the Cornhuskers when he played under head coach Bob Devaney.