CHICAGO – Brian Kelly’s hair was sticky.

After the 12th-ranked Notre Dame team intercepted four passes in a 41-13 pass for Wisconsin’s No.18 at Soldier Field on Saturday, linebacker Drew White and defensive lineman Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa sprayed Kelly of Green Gatorade to celebrate the 12th year. 106th victory for the coach with the Irish. The victory saw him overtake Knute Rockne, making him the all-time leader in program history.

“I’m more than happy to watch the development of Drew Pyne and Chris Tyree,” Kelly said. “That’s why I’m doing this. You don’t do it for 31 years because you’re trying to break Knute Rockne’s record. No disrespect for Knute.

With Pyne and Tyree at the forefront of Kelly’s mind at this point, it made sense as they played a pivotal role in the Irish victory, which broke the program record in Shamrock Series matches at 10-0.

Tyree made perhaps the biggest play of the game, returning a 96-yard kickoff for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to give Notre Dame a 17-13 lead (4-0) after the Badgers (1-2) scored 10 unanswered points in the third quarter to get ahead.

Tyree, starting from the right side of the field, drove through a huge hole on the left side, after which he activated the speed that made him the best all-round runner in the country coming out of high school. When he found paydirt, it completed Notre Dame’s first kick return for a touchdown since 2016.

“We know he has revolutionary speed,” Irish wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. said of Tyree. “For him to show that on screen was a reminder to all of us on the sidelines that this is the type of game it’s going to be and this is the type of game we need to have to beat a team. like (Wisconsin). “

Notre Dame’s defense took the lead in Wisconsin’s next possession, forcing one of their five turnovers when defensive end Isaiah Foskey pounced on a bouncing ball that defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola let loose with a big blow. for Badgers quarterback Graham Mertz. The fumble settled the Irish in the territory of Wisconsin.

Pyne hurt turnover, completing a 22-yard pass to tight end Michael Mayer to put the ball into the red zone, then slamming Austin off a shallow post for 16 yards, the first pitch. redshirt rookie career touchdown. It was 24-13 with 9:34 to go and the win was almost sealed.

“I always try to be the guy to come in and try to make the plays happen,” said Austin, who had six catches for 76 yards. “Having Drew and not Jack at the time, it was the same type of conversation we had: ‘Trust your throws, trust me, trust all the receivers we’re going to play.'”

Notre Dame’s backup quarterback Pyne was in the game because starter Jack Coan, a transfer from Wisconsin, was injured in a sack in the third quarter and had to leave the action.

Pyne completed 6 of 8 passes for 81 yards on relief.

Austin, who was held back without a catch in Notre Dame’s win over Purdue on September 18, also caught a 36-yard touchdown pass along the Coan sideline in the second quarter, which gave the Irish a 10-3 lead at halftime.

The Notre Dame defense put an exclamation mark on the game with a pair of 1:12 pick-sixes in the final three minutes. Linebacker Jack Kiser, 2018 Indiana Mr. Football got the first, cutting one route and going 66 yards in the other direction, and White grabbed the other after a pair of tips, zigzagging 48 yards for complete the score.

Late interceptions were mostly gravy, but the pair of picks cornerback Cam Hart had, which led to Irish 10 points while the game was still close, were not. Notre Dame also didn’t hold the Badgers, who amassed 263 rushing yards per game, just 74 rushing yards and 2.6 per carry.

“I wouldn’t say it was planned, but it wasn’t new to us,” Hart said. “That’s what we do every day, go out there and have fun, play together. It is finally exposed to the outside world. … I don’t think anyone in the locker room doubted that we could play at this level.

To note: The Badgers’ offensive line featured Bishop Dwenger graduate Joe Tippmann starting center. The sophomore redshirt, which won a Class 4A state championship with the Saints in 2018, started in Week 1 for the Wisconsin offensive line.

dsinn@jg.net