NFL
By: Greg Rector
After thrillingly beating Duke on Saturday night the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-1) are back in the top ten now ranked 10th in the nation. What a thriller we witnessed as the Fighting Irish are now facing another ranked team in their home stadium as they travel to play the Louisville Cardinals (5-0) who are now ranked 25th and are unbeaten. I was dead wrong about the scoring against Duke and freely admit that. Let’s look at this game.
Notre Dame Offense
I currently don’t know who is available for the Notre Dame at wide receiver but I do know that Mitchell Evans can really catch passes. After going for 134 yards on six catches against Duke he is proving himself as a very good tight end something that is a surprise for me. The Louisville Cardinals and Notre Dame have a common opponent and that was North Carolina State. The Cardinals eked out a 13-10 victory over the Wolfpack. Notre Dame of course had the weather-delayed game where they beat the Wolfpack by 45-24.
This will be another game where Sam Hartman wants revenge against the Louisville Cardinals who defeated Hartman and the Wake Forest soundly in his last appearance at L&N Stadium. Hartman was sacked six times and threw four interceptions as Louisville hammered Wake Forest 48-21. Look for Hartman who has thrown zero interceptions and has only been sacked six times in five games to be much better protected and he has played so well for the Fighting Irish to not have the same fate awaiting him Saturday night.
I also know the Louisville Cardinals have never faced a group of running backs the likes of which Notre Dame will throw at them Saturday night. Audric Estime was simply magnificent against Duke and the reason the Notre Dame is now 4-1. This goes to the coaching decisions of Marcus Freeman and Gerard Parker. After the Duke game was over I was stunned to hear Coach Freeman state he was playing to kick the game-winning field goal rather than playing for the touchdown which we all witnessed when Estime went the distance.
Coach Freeman, do you want to win in the CFB playoffs? You go for the touchdowns always over kicking a field goal. Certainly, the field goal kicker has a strong leg but you want to win at the college level and you need touchdowns to get the job done. This will be another lesson learned for Coach Freeman I hope.
Notre Dame Defense
I can’t say enough good things about the job Al Golden has done with this group of defenders. Golden was noted for his work with the front seven on most teams he’s been with in the past. While that group has been excellent it’s the secondary that has shined for Notre Dame this season.
Brendan Morrison Cam Hart Xavier Woods DJ Brown and Thomas Harper have been outstanding for the Fighting Irish and that’s going to matter come October 14th when USC comes to South Bend. Caleb Williams is no joke and his wide receivers room is a very deep group. They will be tested by the Cardinals who only managed 20 yards of rushing against NC State.
Louisville starting quarterback Jack Plummer isn’t the passer nor is he a great runner as Riley Leonard was for Duke. I look for him to be a thrower against Notre Dame and that feeds into what the Fighting Irish lean on so far this season. After limiting Leonard to just 131 yards of passing the Fighting Irish secondary should be ready to roll against the Cardinals quarterback.
Howard Cross has been spectacular for Notre Dame playing as an undersized DT is no easy task at any level of football yet Cross had 13 tackles and caused two fumbles for the Fighting Irish. He leads the Irish in tackles with 35 so far.
My Prediction
With the largest crowd ever at L&N Stadium, Notre Dame is going to beat the Louisville Cardinals by a score of 38-13. They will be 5-1 and will still be in contention for an appearance at the CFB playoffs.
As always I remain #ProudToBeND and #GoIrish
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