Zack Perez
Legion of the Leprechaun Author and Contributor
Notre Dame vs. Louisville Preview
Notre Dame Rush Offense vs. Louisville Run Defense
The Irish are continuing to show that the run game is the strength of the offense as they are 18th in the nation averaging 238.3 yards a game with an average of 6.7 yards per rush. Jeremiyah Love has 46 attempts for 339 yards with 4 touchdowns and an average of 7.4 yards per rush. Quarterback Riley Leonard has 46 attempts for 322 yards with 6 touchdowns and an average of 7 yards per rush. Jadaran Price has 26 attempts for 193 yards with 2 touchdowns and an average of 7.4 yards per rush. The Irish have a run game that basically uses three players as the trio have the majority of the rushing attempts, yards, and touchdowns.
Louisville has been pretty impressive against the run so far this season as they are 18th in the nation against the run allowing 87.3 yards per game with 3 touchdowns and opponents averaging 2.5 yards per rush. It should be noted that so far, Louisville has only played 3 games due to an early bye week while a good majority of teams have played 4 games (and some cases, like future opponent Georgia Tech, have played 5 games). The Cardinals have held 2 out of 3 opponents to under 100 yards rushing as Division 1-AA Austin Peay and Georgia Tech rushed for 34 and 98 yards, respectively. The other opponent, Jacksonville State (who was a Division 1-AA team prior to 2023), managed to have the best performance on the ground against Louisville with 130 yards. The Cardinals have been very impressive getting into opposing backfields with an outstanding 26 tackles for loss through just 3 games. It is even more impressive as 15 different players have registered at least 0.5 tackles for loss which showcases defensive depth so far this season.
The Irish are coming off a strong rushing performance for the second consecutive game with 36 attempts for 270 yards with 3 touchdowns and an average of 7.5 yards per rush. With the Irish continuing to focus on the run game, it will be a big test against a Louisville defense that has been one of the best teams against the run and won’t even (at the time of writing this) be the best run defense that the Irish face this season. It should be noted that outside of Georgia Tech (who has a record of 3-2), that Louisville has not played any opponents of note as Division 1-AA Austin Peay is 1-3 and Jacksonville State is also 1-3 as well. A very important factor into this matchup is that against Jacksonville State and Georgia Tech, the leading rusher by both teams was their quarterback. With Riley Leonard being a quarterback who is very good at running with the ball, it could make things more favorable for the Irish on the ground. Establishing the run early will be vital as the passing offense has had its ups and downs at times and leaning on the run will be important as the game goes on.
Edge: Notre Dame
Louisville Rush Offense vs. Notre Dame Run Defense
Edge: Even
Notre Dame Pass Offense vs. Louisville Pass Defense
The Irish have not been the best when it comes to passing as they are 108th in the nation with 173.8 yards per game and a completion rate of 62.4 percent. Riley Leonard has 65 completions on 103 attempts for 587 yards with 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, and a completion rate of 63.1 percent. Backup Steve Angeli has 7 attempts for 11 yards for 104 yards with 2 touchdowns and a completion rate of 63.6 percent. Beaux Collins has appeared to have emerged as the top receiver as he leads the team with 16 receptions for 176 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 11 yards per catch. A good amount of the receivers after him are all really close to each other in terms of yardage as the next player is Jaden Greathouse who has 9 receptions for 79 yards with an average of 8.8 yards. Jayden Harrison has 7 receptions for 70 yards with a 10 yard average white Kris Mitchell has 6 receptions for 69 yards with an average of 11.5 yards. Mitchell Evans continues to return to full strength and leads the tight ends with 7 receptions for 68 yards with a 9.7 yard average. Jayden Thomas has 6 receptions for 62 yards with a 10.3 yard average while tight end Cooper Flanagan has 3 receptions for 53 yards with 1 touchdown and a 17.7 yard average. The Irish have allowed 7 sacks and 7 quarterback hurries along with just 6 passes broken up.
The Cardinals are ranked 44th in the nation against the pass as they are allowing 181.3 yards per game with 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, and a completion rate of 61.9 percent. After holding Austin Peay and Jacksonville State to 72 and 160 yards, respectively, the Cardinals allowed 312 from Georgia Tech. The Cardinals have been excellent in getting to opposing quarterbacks with 9 sacks and 10 quarterback hurries along with 4 passes broken up. Most of the sacks have been from the defensive line with Tramel Logan having 3 sacks. Jared Dawson has 2 and from the secondary sees Tamarion McDonald with 2 as well.
Notre Dame has not been as strong throwing the ball this season, but the Cardinals performance against the pass in the win over Georgia Tech does give some hope. They allowed 312 passing yards after only allowing a combined 232 in the first two games could be a confidence booster for the Irish passing game. As they also faced quarterbacks who could run that might make things more favorable for the Irish. With that being said, things are more favorable for the opposition, but it should be noted that the Cardinals have largely faced weak competition outside of Georgia Tech. If Riley Leonard is able to get things going in all aspects of the passing game, it will help tremendously against one of the better teams of the ACC.
Louisville Pass Offense vs. Notre Dame Pass Defense
The Cardinals are one of the best passing teams so far this season as they are ranked 18th nationally with an average of 308 yards per game with a completion rate of 71.6 percent. Tyler Shough was acquired out of the transfer portal and has been impressive through 3 games with 52 completions on 76 attempts for 850 yards with 8 touchdowns and a completion rate of 68.4 percent. The veteran quarterback has thrown for at least 2 touchdown passes in each game while also completing more than 60 percent of passes and over 200 yards passing in each game too. Ja’Corey Brooks has been the main target with 17 receptions for 297 yards with 2 touchdowns and an average of 17.4 yards per reception. His numbers are so impressive that the next two players combined receptions and yards are still less than the numbers that Brooks has put up. Chris Bell has 6 receptions for 167 yards with 2 touchdowns and a 27.8 yard average. Jadon Thompson is out for the season due to injury but had 6 receptions for 88 yards with 2 touchdowns and a 14.7 yard average. The tight ends get used in the passing as well as Jamari Johnson has 5 receptions for 69 yards with a 13.9 yard average while Mark Redman has 3 receptions for 45 yards with 2 touchdowns and a 15 yard average. They have allowed just 2 sacks and 10 quarterback hurries and just 4 pass breakups.
The Irish have been quite strong against the pass this season as they are ranked 18th in the nation allowing 135.3 yards per game with 2 touchdowns, 6 interceptions (1 returned for a touchdown), and a completion rate of 42.7 percent. Each opponent has been held to below 200 yards passing and the highest completion rate in a game is just 50 percent. Of the 6 interceptions so far this season, each have come from a different player with Boubacar Traore having returned 1 interception for a touchdown. The Irish have been able to get to opposing quarterbacks with 9 sacks and 12 quarterback hurries with 18 passes broken up. Boubacar Traore also leads the team in sacks with 3 followed by Howard Cross having 2 and Jason Onye having 1.5 and a majority of the sacks have come from defensive linemen.
The Cardinals are one of the biggest tests for the Irish to face when it comes to passing this season, they will be without one of their top targets due to injury. At the same time though, the Irish lost Jaden Mickey, who will redshirt and transfer following graduation this spring. However, the secondary is the strongest unit on the team as they have continuously been making plays this season. If the Irish defense can create pressure and force Tyler Shough into difficult situations, then it will be of great benefit.
Edge: Notre Dame
Special Teams
Mitch Jeter is 4 of 6 on field goals with an accuracy rate of 67 percent and a long of 46 yards. James Rendell had his best game yet for the Irish as against Miami and has punted 18 times for an average of 40.9 yards. Jayden Harrison has returned what few kickoffs have been returnable with 4 returns for 99 yards with an average of 24.8 per return. Max Hurleman is the leading punt returner with 2 punts returned for 21 yards with a 10.5 yard average. Jordan Faison resumed returning punts, but had a fumble that was not of his own fault and also could have been a case of some rust from being out from injury. The Irish have blocked 2 field goals as well from Jason Onye and Bryce Young.
Brock Travelstead is just 3 of 6 on field goals with an accuracy rate of 50 percent and a long of 38 yards. Two players have been able to punt for the Cardinals as Brady Hodges has punted 4 times with an average of 43.5 per punt, while Carter Schwartz has punted 3 times for an average of 40.3 per punt. Not much has happened in kickoff returns with Isaac Brown returning 2 kickoffs for 36 yards and an 18 yard average. Quincy Riley has returned 6 punts for 53 yards with a 8.8 yard average. The Cardinals have blocked 3 kicks as well which is notable considering they have played just 3 games so far this season.
Stronger Unit: Even
Final Thoughts
The Irish are coming off a 28-3 home win over Miami that has had some division among fans as there was a lack of “style points” in what was actually a game that saw a dominant performance by the Irish defense to some while to others there were minimal injuries after the Irish saw three players have significant injuries in the win over Purdue. They start the second of three consecutive home games against one of the stronger opponents on the schedule. Louisville won their conference opener after impressively beating two weaker opponents, but will be playing on the road for the first time this season after opening with three home games. This is the green out week for the Irish and the Irish will come out in the green jerseys. Hopefully the fans will wear green and make it challenging on the visitor while causing them a lot of false starts and early timeouts. Considering that Louisville has had some trouble with quarterbacks that can run this season, this game will hopefully be a confidence booster for Riley Leonard. Another thing that will need to keep an eye on (as of writing this) is the weather on Saturday as there could be some showers from the remnants of the ongoing hurricane. Should it wind up raining, it could be of benefit for the Irish as they can then lean on the run game since the weather could weaken the passing game for the Cardinals. It is important to win this game to stay in the playoff conversation and help gain momentum heading into the first bye week of the season.
Prediction: Notre Dame 23, Louisville 14
As always, GO IRISH!
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