Notre Dame (5-1) is spending the second of two consecutive weekends on the road as the Fighting Irish visit the unbeaten Louisville Cardinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Saturday. The hosts are off to a 5-0 start for the first time since 2013. This will be the seventh game of the season for the Fighting Irish, and six of them will have been played against teams that were undefeated at the time. Also, for the third consecutive week, the game will be played at night. The ABC network will televise this contest beginning at 7:30 PM Eastern time.

Head Coach Jeff Brohm in his first season at his alma mater after resurrecting Purdue to Big-10 respectability from 2017-2022. Brohm inherited a squad that was 8-5 last year and 25-24 under Scott Satterfield over the past four seasons. Quarterback Malik Cunningham led the Cardinals during that time but has moved on to New England in the NFL.

In need of a replacement, Brohm brought in perennial free agent Jack Plummer to run his offense this year. Plummer competed against Notre Dame for different teams in each of the past two seasons. He led Purdue under Brohm in 2021 and Cal Berkeley last year. Plummer was a combined 41 of 73 in passing for 371 yards and two touchdowns. The Irish won both games.

Notre Dame Coach Marcus Freeman is well aware of the toll that night games, particularly on the road, can take on his student athletes. In his remarks earlier this week, Freeman had this to say about preparation for Louisville:

“I adjust each week based off the (player) loads that I get back from the game, based off what the previous week looked like and based off the demands they have this week,” he explained. “We moved some of the lifts around. Hey, what time are they getting up? It’s specific for actually individuals more than it is a team. Like, what does this individual need to make sure on Saturday he’s ready to reach his full potential. So, we’ve made some tweaks to take into account the night game, take into account the late arrival (home) with Tuesday and Wednesday’s practice just how we’ve adjusted a little bit.”

On the injury front, the Irish will regain the services of wide receivers Jayden Thomas and Jaden Greathouse, whose absence was felt against Duke. Tight end Eli Raridon is ready to resume his career after suffering two ACL tears in his right knee, the second of which occurred one year ago. Defensive End Jordan Botelho was ejected from last week’s game with Duke and must sit out first half at Louisville.

The Cardinals have just one reported injury. Starting safety Josh Minkins is listed as questionable but the nature of his ailment is undisclosed.

NOTRE DAME’S OFFENSE vs. LOUISVILLE’S DEFENSE

Louisville’s defensive line is formidable and stocked with veterans. End Ashton Gillotte is the best pass rusher and overall playmaker. He has five sacks this year. Stephen Herron or backup Popeye Williams line up on the opposite side, while the interior players elevate this front four to well above average. The rotation at tackle consists of starters Dezmond Tell and Ramon Puryear, with 300-pounders Jermayne Lole and Tawfiq Thomas in reserve. This group will test Notre Dame’s offensive line, who struggled last week against a surprisingly good Duke unit.

Linebacker has been an issue for Brohm as last year’s starters elected to transfer following the coaching change. Thus far this season, the Cardinals have settled on TJ Quinn, now the team’s leading tackler, and Jaylin Alderman. Both saw limited action last year. They have played well thus far, due in no small part to the solid group of linemen in front of them. Notre Dame did not utilize its running backs very much in the passing game last week but need to get the ball to these talented players in space on Saturday to test Quinn and Alderman.

Notre Dame welcomes back three excellent pass receivers this week in Thomas, Greathouse and Raridon. Last week’s game plan was limited by their absence which played into the hands of Mike Elko’s defense. Quarterback Sam Hartman will have more options this week as the Irish should be able to discourage Louisville from loading up against the run.

When Hartman drops back to pass, the five-man secondary of the Cardinals will feature several new starters. Cornerback Storm Duck and safety Cam’Ron Kelly transferred in this spring after four seasons at North Carolina. Jarvis Brownlee and Quincy Riley were backup corners last year who now see regular action, while Benjamin Perry continues to hold down a hybrid position. The injury-plagued Minkins may be their best pass defender and tackler when healthy. He will be missed if he’s unavailable.

LOUISVILLE’S OFFENSE vs. NOTRE DAME’S DEFENSE

Under Brohm, Louisville has averaged 37 points and just under 500 yards per game in total offense. Plummer has been a 65% passer although he has thrown six interceptions to date. The Cardinals had averaged 237 yards rushing before NC State held them to a net 20 yards on 29 carries. Although the Wolfpack defense succeeded in making the Cardinals one-dimensional, untimely turnovers by the offense in Louisville territory sealed their doom.

Plummer is a capable passer and runner but previous outings against Notre Dame have shown that he struggles under sustained pressure. NC State sacked him four times last week and the Irish got him six times in 2022. Plummer is wearing a different uniform now but Freeman’s plan again this year will be to stop the run and make Plummer uncomfortable in the pocket.

The Cardinals counter with an experienced offensive line led by center Bryan Hudson and right tackle Renato Brown. Running back Jawhar Jordan has gained over 500 yards behind this group. At wide receiver, Jamari Thrash is the big play target and chief threat. He should draw considerable interest from Ben Morrison of Notre Dame. The other notable Louisville receivers are Ahmari Huggins-Bruce, Chris Bell, and Joe Coleman. Tight end Josh Lifson has only three receptions and is rarely targeted. Jordan is a capable receiver out of the backfield, so the Irish will have to account for him. This may be easier said than done, especially given the poor tackling by Notre Dame this season.

Plummer is a good enough passer to take advantage downfield if the Irish are unable to apply pressure. Like Hartman, he is unafraid to run if the play breaks down. The sacks and interceptions he suffered are a concern for Louisville, though. We may see him roll out more than usual, especially on third down. Brohm also has a reputation for coming up with creative  (trick) plays in big games. Successful gimmickry will keep both the Louisville players and their home crowd engaged but failure is usually deflating.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Notre Dame fans are rightfully concerned as to why special teams have deteriorated from a group of passionate difference makers in 2022 to a liability in 2023. The key specialists, punter Bryce McFerson and kicker Spencer Shrader are new this season, as is Coach Marty Biagi. Still, the cover and return units should not be giving up more yards and field position than they acquire. Perhaps this will be addressed and fixed during the bye week; perhaps not.

Veteran Louisville kicker Brock Travelstead provided the winning points last week in the low-scoring win over NC State. He possesses a strong leg and is more consistent than his Irish counterpart. Travelstead also doubles as the team’s punter, where he is far less effective.

Both Louisville return men are above average. Kevin Coleman handles punts and will take 5-10 extra yards rather than settle for a fair catch. Jawhar Jordan has brought back only two kickoffs but picked up 63 yards in the process.  Notre Dame averages only 20 yards per kickoff return and three yards on punts.

SUMMARY

Notre Dame’s defensive plan is straightforward. Stop the run, pressure Plummer and lock down Thrash with Morrison. The Cardinals do not have a wealth of offensive game-breakers, so this is normally not too much to ask. The issue is this group of Irish defenders has played a ton of snaps over the past two weeks with minimal substitutions. Fatigue usually manifests itself in poor tackling and lazy pursuit angles. The staff was reluctant to rotate second teamers into the games over the last two weeks but may not have a choice this time.

On offense, Notre Dame’s offensive line must win against a foursome that dominated NC State last week. Hartman will need time to throw accurate passes while not having to run for his life. The ground game led by Audric Estime cannot wait until the final minute of play to break off a decent run. The Irish coaching staff must adjust sooner and more decisively if Louisville clogs the gaps with extra personnel. If Louisville’s front can defeat the Irish line at the point of attack to stop the run without bringing help from the back seven, Notre Dame will be in serious trouble.

The teams have one common opponent this season as both have played at North Carolina State. As noted, the Cardinals won a defensive struggle by 13-10 while Notre Dame’s fourth quarter explosion carried the Irish to a 45-24 victory.

My greatest concern is the physical and mental fatigue Notre Dame will encounter with another road trip in its seventh straight week of football. The Cardinals have enough talent to score an upset if the Irish play poorly, so the depth and leadership of the squad will be tested.  

Here are a few questions that will shed light on the outcome:

PREDICTION

Louisville has arguably the weakest offense of the four consecutive undefeated opponents the Irish will face during the current stretch. That said, this game may be the most difficult for Freeman and Notre Dame to conjure the motivation it will take to subdue the Cards in their own crib. Once again, the Irish are the better team on paper but college football is rarely that predictable. Louisville’s front four will bedevil the Irish attack if the offensive line is not at or near peak performance. Offensive Coordinator Gerad Parker has more weapons at his disposal this week but needs to call a better game than he did a week ago.

The ideal outcome is that Notre Dame puts the game away in the third quarter. Several key defenders could use the rest with an intense rivalry game coming up next week. Although a nail-biter on Saturday may be entertaining for casual fans, the last thing the Irish need is another forced march of 95 yards to pull out a last-minute victory. This matchup should not require that level of drama but the margin of victory won’t be as large as the Irish faithful would prefer.

NOTRE DAME 28  LOUISVILLE 20

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