(photo courtesy Notre Dame Athletics)

(Green Bay) — It was a tale of two halves at Lambeau Field, and Notre Dame football fans are glad the second verse was not the same as the first.

After struggling with Wisconsin for a half, #4 Notre Dame used a combined three touchdowns from running backs Aneyas Williams and Nolan James, Jr. and a pick-six from transfer cornerback DJ McKinney in the second half to beat the Badgers, 41-13.

“I think that first half we were pressing a little bit, I was pressing,” admitted Irish head coach Marcus Freeman, who is just 4-5 in the first two weeks of a season during his tenure. “We just needed to relax and go focus on doing our job. It’s as simple as that.”

Notre Dame’s offense seemed in a slog in the first half, going 0-for-6 on third down conversions. The Irish scored their only touchdown of the first half after Kahuna Kia recovered a fumble on a kickoff at the Badger 13.  CJ Carr hit Green Bay native James Flanigan with a three-yard touchdown pass as Notre Dame grabbed a 10-3 lead late in the first.

After Wisconsin tied it with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Colton Joseph to Marcus Coleman, the Irish responded with a 26-yard field goal from Spencer Porath to make it 13-10 at halftime.

The second half was a much different story, as the Irish involved both running backs in the passing game on the opening drive of the third quarter. Williams capped a nine-play, 70-yard march with a three-yard run off the left side and Notre Dame had a 20-10 cushion.

The defense then took Wisconsin out of the game on the next drive. Bryce Young applied pressure on Joseph, who threw wildly right into the arms of McKinney. The Colorado transfer raced 55 yards for the score to make it 27-10.

Wisconsin put together an eight-minute drive after that, but had to settle for Gavin Lahm’s 36-yard field goal that closed the gap to 27-13.

Then the Notre Dame running game took over, with Williams sprinting the last five yards of a 75-yard drive, upping the ante to 34-13. Carr hit James out of the backfield for a 28-yard touchdown on Notre Dame’s final drive to account for the final score.

“Obviously being a able to run the ball helped tremendously,” noted Freeman. “The offense stayed on track because we were able to have some successful runs. Now it gives CJ a chance to really dissect what he wants to do in the passing game.”

Williams finished with 90 yards on 20 carries. Carr completed 19-of-29 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns.

Notre Dame did have two starters leave the game with injuries. Both defensive lineman Jason Onye and safety Brauntae Johnson had their left legs in walking boots during the second half. Freeman offered no word on their condition after the game.

The Irish now have a short week to prepare for a visit from Rice (1-0) at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday.