Pre Game Notes:
The Louisville Cardinals took on #10 Notre Dame in prime time on ABC. The Cards are 5-0 and the Fighting Irish are coming in 5-1. Louisville went to Raleigh and gutted out a victory over a very tough defensive-minded Wolfpack team. Queue up any and all of the backdrops for this game: yes, its the first time the Cards are 5-0 in years. Yes, Coach Brohm was recruited by Notre Dame before he committed to Louisville. Yes, Louisville beat ND in South Bend in 2014. Yes, the Brohms went to Trinity High School in Louisville, which is a Catholic school. The list could go on and on. What is important though, is this Louisville team is playing hard and is continuing to get better day after day, and game after game. The Irish are 1-1 in their last two games and both of those games have came down to plays towards the end of the game.
1st Quarter:
The Cards started the game on defense and after a couple first downs by Notre Dame, Quincy Riley picked off Sam Hartman. The Cards moved the ball efficiently down the field, with a 12-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to go up 7-0 with 6:05 remaining in the first quarter. Louisville ended the quarter with the 7-0 lead.
2nd Quarter:
UofL came out with a big stop on 3rd down to start quarter 2, but failed to capitalize when they had the ball. Both teams moved the ball a little, but were forced to punt on their ensuing possessions. Notre Dame tied the game at 7 with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Hartman. Louisville went 3-and-out on their next possession, but forced a fumble on Notre Dame’s 3rd down attempt. Brock Travelstead missed a 42-yard kick that would’ve gave the Cards the lead. Louisville and Notre Dame were tied at 7 heading into intermission.
Halftime Stats:
T.O.P: 14:38
Passing Yards: 57
Rushing Yards: 68
Sacks: 3
T.Os: 2
3rd Quarter:
Jamari Thrash fumbled on the Cards first offensive play of the half, and that allowed Notre Dame to take their first lead of the game (7-10). Louisville, despite the early miscue on offense, marched right down the field and tied the game with a Travelstead 44-yard kick. Notre Dame retook the lead (10-13) with a field goal of their own. On the next possession, Louisville’s Jawhar Jordan took a 45-yard run to the house to give the lead (17-13) heading into the final quarter of regulation.
4th Quarter:
This was reminiscent of the 3rd quarter of the Wake Forest game last year for Sam Hartman. He was hit and hit often by the Louisville defense. He also threw two interceptions in the quarter. Louisville scored 16 points in the quarter and ran away with the game. Jordan added another rushing touchdown and Travelstead added three field goals late to seal the win. The Cards beat 10th-ranked Notre Dame 33-20.
Post Game Notes:
The Cards are now Bowl bound. It was yet another game where Coach Brohm and his staff hit the locker room and made game winning adjustments. Give a ton of credit to the players for executing the game plan to almost perfection. Louisville had 7 possessions in the second half and scored on 6 of them ( 2 touchdowns and 4 field goals). Louisville takes to the road to face Pittsburgh on the October 14th at 6:30 pm.
ICYMI: Recap & highlights from the Cards win over Notre Dame!
Recap: https://t.co/BG0B9IimBS#GoCards pic.twitter.com/jQLrNT7JXh
— Louisville Football (@LouisvilleFB) October 8, 2023
