The most surprising loss of the 2023 Notre Dame football schedule came on the road against Louisville. The Irish were 5-1 and ranked #10 in the country at the time before the Cardinals derailed their season. Louisville comes to South Bend with the Irish in a similar situation at 3-1 and ranked 16th with their playoff hopes still intact. Will Notre Dame enact some revenge tomorrow, or will the Cardinals have their number again amid a sea of green for this year’s “Irish Wear Green” weekend?
What Worries Me This Weekend
Notre Dame’s pass protection
Louisville has a pass rush every bit as good as Texas A&M’s. Notre Dame held its own against the Aggies, but the pass protection has been shaky behind their young offensive line since then. Louisville is going to send a lot of looks at Notre Dame in hopes of confusing their inexperienced line. Still, even without exotic looks, the Cardinals have the talent to generate pressure consistently. Mike Denbrock will need to do a good job of calling some quick passes designed to get the ball out while picking his spots to push the ball downfield.
An afternoon kickoff
Many of Marcus Freeman’s best games have come on night games – 2022 Clemson, 2023 USC, 2024 Texas A&M – while the Irish have been flat in numerous mid-afternoon kickoffs at home. Notre Dame shouldn’t have a hard time being up for this one, given what Louisville did to the Irish last year, but they shouldn’t have come out flat against Clemson on the road last year, and they shouldn’t have had slow starts against Miami of Ohio or Northern Illinois this year. It might sound ridiculous, but I’d feel better about this game if it were a night game.
The revenge factor should counteract whatever it is that seems to ail this team during home games this year, but until we see the Irish come out and start fast at home in a non-night game, it’s a worry for me.
What Doesn’t Worry Me This Weekend
Notre Dame’s secondary getting beat
Louisville will come into this game looking to pass the ball with transfer quarterback Tyler Shough, but they didn’t sustain offense well in their only game against a Power 4 foe this year. Louisville beat Georgia Tech by hitting on some big plays in their 31-19 win over the Yellow Jackets. Notre Dame’s defense is significantly better than Georgia Tech’s, and the Irish have one of the best secondaries in the country. Benjamin Morrison and Christian Gray could be busy tomorrow, but they’ll be up for the task.
Riley Leonard making plays with his legs
Louisville has one of the best defenses that Notre Dame will face all year, but the Cardinals have struggled with mobile quarterbacks so far this season, and they haven’t seen any quarterback that can run quite like Leonard. For all the hand-wringing around Leonard’s struggles in the passing game, he has been downright elite running the football and making defenders miss. Notre Dame can’t rely solely on Leonard’s legs – he will need to build on last week’s downfield passing – but Leonard should be able to move the chains with his legs for crucial first downs.
On the passing front, I think Leonard will build on last week and have his best passing game in a Notre Dame uniform. That’s a relatively low bar right now, but it feels like he is close to having a breakout performance.
Players to Watch
- Jordan Faison – He only played 11 snaps against Miami of Ohio and didn’t record a catch. Marcus Freeman says he’s 100%, and he made his mark as a freshman against Louisville. Look for him to get back on the stat sheet this week.
- Boubacar Traore – In his first career start, he recorded two sacks. I don’t know if he’ll add another two tomorrow, but if he does, the Irish will be in great shape.
- Anthony Knapp – The freshman LT held his own against the stout Texas A&M front but fell back down to earth a bit since then. Louisville has some dudes on the EDGE and needs Knapp to look more like he did in week one than in subsequent weeks.
- Mitchell Evans – His snap count has increased to the point that he should be ready for a full workload this week. He found the endzone last year against Louisville and should again this year.
- Jayden Harrison – Notre Dame will need to dial up a few deep shots, and Notre Dame has been trying to utilize his speed each week. It feels like a good week to get him some more deep looks.
Prediction Time
I can’t quite place why, but over the course of the week, I have felt better and better about this game. As Notre Dame struggled in the first half of Miami, I was not feeling great. In looking more and more into the game, though, I felt better and better. Last year’s loss is still on the minds of most of the members of this team, and the Irish offense starts to put it all together. Louisville hasn’t been tested much this year, and they won’t be able to move the ball consistently against the Irish. Riley Leonard throws for two touchdowns and runs for a third, leading Notre Dame to win.
Notre Dame 31, Louisville 17
