Notre Dame plays its fourth straight home game to start the 2020 season on Saturday hosting the Louisville Cardinals. Second-year head coach Scott Satterfield’s squad has stumbled out of the gates to a 1-3 start after beginning the season ranked, but they can still dangerous nonetheless. Notre Dame will look to continue Louisville’s early-season misery in what is expected to be another tune-up leading up to next month’s showdown with Clemson.
What I’m Worried About This Week
Louisville having a mobile quarterback. Last weekend, Florida State’s Jordan Travis gave the Notre Dame defense trouble with his legs. He ran the ball 19 times overall for 96 yards and a touchdown. Malik Cunningham isn’t as much of a threat with just 84 rushing yards on the season, but he did run for just under 500 yards in each of the past two seasons.
Notre Dame’s struggles last week could, in part, be chalked up to the lost practice time and limited availability of the roster during the COVID outbreak, but it was still worrisome to see Travis run through the Notre Dame offense at times.
Notre Dame is in the best shape they’ve been from a health perspective all season heading into this contest, so we should see better tackling this weekend, but it’s still something to watch out for.
Louisville’s slow start to the season. This one is a bit of paranoia, but I just don’t like that Louisville came into this season with decently high expectations and has started 1-3 headed into this game. I look at that and think, “uh oh, is this the game that Louisville is due for a turnaround”?
The Cardinals have been bitten by the turnover bug this year as they’ve stumbled out of the gate, and if they protect the football tomorrow, they have enough firepower to make this game more than a little uncomfortable for the Irish.
I think Louisville is going to hit a few big plays tomorrow. The challenge will be preventing them from sustaining that success.
What I’m Not Worried About This Week
Notre Dame’s running game. Notre Dame ran at will against Florida State and really hasn’t had any problems running the football since the first half of the season opener. I don’t expect that to change against Louisville and expect the Irish to run for over 200 yards again pretty easily.
The only question I have for tomorrow is who leads Notre Dame in rushing? Kyren Williams had another monster game last week. Still, Brian Kelly has been splitting up carries pretty well, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone if Chris Tyree or C’Bo Flemister ends up leading the Irish in rushing.
Notre Dame’s passing game. The Irish passing game has not fired on all cylinders this year, but it showed signs of improvement last weekend against Florida State. Tomorrow I think we finally see it perform like it’s capable of.
Kevin Austin should be more fully engrained in the offense after only playing three snaps last weekend in his return from injury. Javon McKinley topped 100 yards last weekend. Braden Lenzy hasn’t had his breakout game yet, but the further removed from his hamstring injury, the more likely it will happen.
The Irish defense creating more negative plays. While Louisville is likely to hit a few big plays tomorrow, the Cardinals offense’s struggles with protecting the football combined with Notre Dame’s ability to force negative plays is a combination that favors the Irish.
Last year against Notre Dame, Louisville lost three fumbles. They might not be as careless with the football on Saturday, but it shouldn’t surprise anyone if the Irish defense forces a few turnovers and makes a few stops in the backfield. The Irish also had 10 TFL in last year’s meeting, including four sacks. Every player who had a sack in that game last year will be on the field again tomorrow for Notre Dame.
Players I’m Watching This Week
- Kevin Austin – He only got three snaps last weekend. I am hoping to see more than three catches by Austin this weekend.
- Chris Tyree -Tyree topped 100 yards for the first time in his young career last weekend, and he could do so again this weekend.
- Tommy Tremble – He was quiet last weekend, but he had one of his best games of 2019 against Louisville.
- Jonathan Doerer – He has been a bit uncharacteristically shaky this year, albeit with a limited sample size.
- Shaun Crawford – He is returning to safety this weekend after playing corner out of necessity last weekend. He will still probably be around the football.
- Daelin Hayes – He had a big game against the Cardinals last year as well and is still waiting for his first sack of the season.
Prediction Time
This is the kind of game that Notre Dame could have lost four or five years ago but should win relatively easy. There might be some uneasy moments in the beginning just like last weekend, but Louisville’s defense just isn’t very good, so the Irish should out up some points again this week.
Notre Dame 45, Louisville 21
Another spot on Frankie V. prediction, BTW!
Took guts out there today.
Sure did, if by guts you mean no guts, then, yeah, you’re right, Rhonda.
About as gutless as a Rhonda Burgundia post, folks!
…says Rhonda Courageous, narrator of internet drive-bys and slurs.
Eff off.
“david”,
Rhonda used to be somewhat entertaining, but now he’s just droll at best.
To this day we don’t know who he actually roots for.
Plus, he’s a creepy, nothing-better-to-do-with-his-sad-life internet stocker.
You’re just too pathetic, Rhonda!
Well, if you ever found him entertaining, I feel a little bad for you.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have those extra 4 points right now, BK, you jackass?!
Javon McKinley is no Chase Clay Pool or Myles Boykin, that’s for sure.
BK once again at his bad habit of not taking points and then chasing them.
In a game like this you kick the FG and extra point and it’s now a 9 point- or two-score game. But BK is too stupid to do basic math, I guess.
Anyone remember him chasing points against Clemson a few years back and costing us a tie a then end?
The ND D is going to have to pitch a shut out or close to it.
This ND O is so easy to scout and beat. Stack the box against the run. Push the WRs around. Make Book beat you. Do that and the ND O is non-existent.
The D also cannot generate consistent pass rush. Few sacks. Few TOs.
Win or lose, this ND team isn’t close to Clemson, Bama, Ohio St., UGa. They’re not even as good as Miami or the SEC second-tier like Florida.
Another second-tier bowl game against another bad LSU team seems likely if ND can somehow win 10 games. This isn’t a given with this team.
This is a quintessential BK game at ND. Pure mediocrity!
Both “David” and “david” are right to call this gutless coach and team out.
Why do you take the three at the end of the first half? To make it a two-score game. BK is too stupid to know even that!
Where’s all the rah-rah BS now on this site?!
5 more years
Taking the ball, burning TOs, chasing 2, wasting 3, sitting on leads, etc, etc, etc.
Rhonda is sad this is happening to her.
…meanwhile, from a highly entertaining game: “Auburn Could Not Lick ‘Cocks”
UL has done to ND what Clemson and UGa did. Make Book beat you. Book can’t do that. He also has no WRs at all to throw to and the O line is over matched by a bad UL D line.
Not taking the points in this kind of game was bad, and the D at the end of the half was horrendous. Almost giving up points at the end was pathetic!
This is going to potentially be the defining loss of the BK era if things continue this way.
With Book at QB ND has no chance against Clemson!
This guy has no arm strength and can’t read the D consistently.
The O line is going to have to play a lot better to give Book time to make throws and open up lanes for the RBs.
Clemson will utterly humiliate ND playing like this.
Over-rated O line and Book at QB equals no O!
This is a gutless start to this game by Book, the O line, The WRs, TEs, Reese, etc.!
Great headline.
Runner-up: “The other team losing still counts as a win.”
….Clemson already looks quite “tuned up”.