Notre Dame jumped out to an early 21-7 first-quarter lead on Louisville on Saturday afternoon before holding on for a 31-24 victory. Notre Dame got some revenge for last year’s road loss to the Cardinals, which effectively killed their playoff chances. Notre Dame forced three first-half turnovers while Riley Leonard threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third. The Irish offense, however, struggled to move the ball for large portions of this game while relying on its defense to seal the victory. Notre Dame suffered some more injuries to its defensive line, with sophomore Boubacar Traore getting knocked out of the game. Benjamin Morrison left the game briefly as well but was able to return.
The win improved Notre Dame to 4-1 on the season as they head into an early season bye next weekend. With Louisville out of the way, Notre Dame won’t face another ranked opponent this season until their regular season finale against USC.
Very lack luster offense. Riley can’t pass to save his life and play calling was atrocious. Tough to get excited for the Irish this year. Defense was supposed to be the bright spot but their run defense is not good. Louisville has a good team decent defense and they ran the ball too well against the Irish. Thank God the bend don’t break D saved the day.