Breaking down the keys to keeping Wisconsin QB Colton Joseph in check

SOUTH BEND — Drayk Bowen, two-time captain and middle linebacker for Notre Dame football, has seen the clips countless times.

Wisconsin quarterback Colton Joseph, then of Old Dominion, pulls the ball on the RPO and sprints to the house for the Monarchs' only two scores against Indiana in last year's season opener.

The Newport Beach, CA product went 75 yards on the first snap of the game and another 78 in the fourth quarter after the eventual national champions had built a 20-point lead.

"It's just something you kind of know of," Bowen said this week after practice. "You see what happened. We know he's got some wheels; he can run."

At 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, Joseph is built like a Baywatch lifeguard with the laid-back persona to match. He eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards last season and earned an estimated $2 million annual deal from the rebuilding Badgers in the transfer portal.

The question ahead of Sunday night's Sept. 6 opener at Lambeau Field is just how dangerous Joseph might be against a veteran Notre Dame defense.

"It's just going to be one of those things where he's going to run it," Bowen said. "It's not something where you can just make them stop running him because he's going to do it. You know he's fast, you know he's going to want the ball in his hands, you know they're going to want the ball to be in his hands.

"It's just something you've got to be ready for, prepare for and go out and execute. Whenever the time comes where he gets the ball, you know you're going to have to be the one to make the play."

It helps that Notre Dame has seen plenty of dual-threat quarterbacks in recent years. Last season alone, they had to contend with a pair of SEC passers with high-end escape factors: Marcel Reed of Texas A&M and Taylen Green of Arkansas.

Reed was limited to 37 rushing yards on seven carries in a 41-40 win at Notre Dame, while Green went for 81 rushing yards on 10 carries in a 56-13 Irish blowout in Fayetteville.

"This kid, Colton, is a really good athlete," Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chris Ash said. "In college football, you face a lot of athletic quarterbacks. Last year, we played Arkansas, and they had one of the fastest quarterbacks in America.

"This isn't new or unique. Doesn't mean that we're ready for the challenge yet. We've got work to do, but our players understand how important this is going to be."

The key on designed runs for Joseph: "Making sure we're assignment sound and we're always aware that the quarterback's the main priority for us," Ash said.

How to limit the rushing threat of Colton Joseph

Accuracy has been an issue for Joseph, who completed under 60% of his passes in both seasons as the starter at ODU.

His career TD/INT rate is just 32/15, including three picks in the 2026 opener at Bloomington, and he's been sacked 35 times while going 12-8 as the starter.

Keeping Joseph in the pocket is a priority for the Irish.

"When he drops back to pass, making sure that we make him throw from the pocket and stay in the pocket and not let him get out," Ash said. "He's going to get out. Most athletic quarterbacks through the course of the game do get out, but we've got to limit those opportunities."

Should Joseph be able to extend plays behind a revamped Badgers offensive line, the Irish secondary will need to stay "plastered" to his downfield targets.

"Just make sure that we're doing a great job on the coverage part of it," Ash said. "So if he does get out, we can rally and pursue and make sure that we take care of our coverage assignments."

In Ash's first year running the Irish defense, the only opposing quarterback to rush for 100 yards was Navy's Braxton Woodson (23 attempts, 101 yards and a touchdown) out of the triple option.

Navy third-stringer Jackson Gutierrez (7 carries, 37 yards) tied with Reed for fourth-most rushing yards against Notre Dame last season.

" We've got to do our job and make sure we try to cage (Joseph) up as much as possible," Bowen said. "It's not going to happen every time. It's hard with those guys. He's going to find a way to make a play, to escape, to do something."

Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.