Wisconsin football may have a ways to go before competing for a national championship, but the state of Wisconsin will be represented in the College Football Playoff semifinal Thursday night in the Orange Bowl.
Both Penn State and Notre Dame have Wisconsin representation on the roster.
For Notre Dame, it’s a projected starter in left guard Billy Schrauth, an alumnus of St. Mary Springs in Fond du Lac (with a hometown of Campbellsport).
The third-year player missed time this year with a sprained ankle but is back for the season’s biggest games, including wins over Indiana and Georgia to get to this point.
Schrauth has 10 starts this season after making three last year and appearing in 13 games overall. Schrauth visited schools like Auburn, Oregon and Ohio State during his recruitment and was heavily recruited by Wisconsin before choosing Notre Dame.
The Notre Dame coaching staff has a number of Wisconsin connections, notably Schrauth’s offensive line coach, Joe Rudolph, a former University of Wisconsin football player who coached at Wisconsin for a decade, first as tight ends coach from 2008 to 2011, then as offensive coordinator and associate head coach from 2015 to 2020. He was moved to run-game coordinator while maintaining a title of associate head coach and offensive line coach in 2021.
Wide receivers coach Mike Brown coached wide receivers at Wisconsin in 2023, and quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli played with the Green Bay Blizzard and Milwaukee Mustangs for one year apiece in the Arena Football League.
Notre Dame will also get multiple recruits from Wisconsin in next year’s rookie class, with Green Bay Notre Dame’s James Flanigan and Waukesha Catholic Memorial’s Owen Strebig on the roster of incoming recruits. The two faced off with each other in the WIAA Division 3 championship game, with Notre Dame prevailing.
Marquette University High School kicker Erik Schmidt initially committed to play at Wisconsin but then flipped to Notre Dame, as well.
Penn State has several Wisconsinites on the roster
Likewise, the Nittany Lions have a starter with Wisconsin ties on the offensive line.
Nolan Rucci, who transferred to Penn State before the season from Wisconsin, was thrust into a starting role at right tackle with starter Anthony Dokhoh beset by injury.
He’s now started four straight games, including the team’s first two wins in the college football postseason, against SMU and Boise State. Overall, he’s started five this year and appeared in 15.
Rucci, a former-five star recruit from Pennsylvania, spent three years in the Badgers program, playing alongisde older brother Hayden, a Badgers tight end. Rucci’s biggest moment at UW came in 2023 against Illinois, when he caught a game-winning touchdown pass.
Penn State also dug into Wisconsin for the current freshman class, landing two top prospects from Catholic Memorial in Waukesha (running back Corey Smith and offensive lineman Donnie Harbour) and Arrowhead in Hartland (offensive lineman Garrett Sexton).
Smith has appeared in four games, rushing 22 times for 152 yards this year. Assuming he doesn’t play again, he’d retain freshman status again next season with 2024 regarded as a redshirt year. He had a 78-yard run this year against Washington.
Neither Harbour nor Sexton has seen the field this year.
Former Milwaukee King standout Jerry Cross played tight end this year for the Nittany Lions but entered the transfer portal and has since committed to Memphis.
Penn State’s quarterbacks coach is former UW quarterback Danny O’Brien.
Ohio State also has a starting offensive lineman from Wisconsin
Friday’s game between Texas and Ohio State won’t have nearly as much Wisconsin representation. But OSU offensive lineman Carson Hinzman, a junior who played at Saint Croix Central High School, will have a pivotal role.
Hinzman started 12 games at center for the Buckeyes last year. He’s played at left guard this season but then shifted back to center because of an injury to Alabama transfer Seth McLaughlin.
Ohio State faces Texas on Friday in the Cotton Bowl.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
