Everything you need to know for Louisville football at Notre Dame, plus why was the Georgia Tech game so damn weird.
- A Look back at a wacky win against Georgia Tech
- Looking forward to an important matchup with Notre Dame
- Louisville-Notre Dame is available exclusively on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service.
What is that emotion that you are feeling, fellow Louisville football fans?
After the Cards’ 31-19 conference victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday, its no surprise that 50,796 fans left the stadium feeling some relief. After all, the Yellow Jackets opened the season in Week 0 with an impressive victory over Florida State.
Entering Saturday’s match-up Tech had an opportunity to play spoiler to this Louisville football season before it really even got started. Louisville entered off an unusually early bye week, and the first 3-4 weeks of the season really felt like a preseason tune-up. The Cards dominated against an over-matched Austin Peay Squad and cruised to a ho-hum victory against Jacksonville State.
Meanwhile, Georgia Tech came into the game 3-1, having already traveled from Atlanta, Georgia twice- Once to Ireland to play FSU, and another time to Syracuse, New York.
Under head coach Brent Key, the Jackets were 5-0 against ranked conference opponents. Four of those matchups were played away from home.
Tech finished last season by taking then No. 1 Georgia to the wire in a rivalry game and then thumping UCF in the postseason.
Simply put, Georgia Tech is an excellent football team with the ability to do some serious damage in the ACC this season.
So, yes, there was certainly a feeling of excitement and relief as C-A-R-D-S chants rang out around L&N Stadium.
But there was also a sense of consternation for fans as the excitement wore off.
Because what we just witnessed was exciting, but it was also pretty weird.
A Return to Normalcy?
There was not much normal from either team on Saturday.
Louisville football accounted for as many defensive touchdowns (2) as it did offensive touchdowns.
The Cardinals reeled off big plays, but those plays were often negated by penalties.
The average distance to gain for Louisville football on third down was 10.1 yards. The Cards only converted 2 on 9 attempts (though, they did go 1/1 on fourth down).
Louisville also had a field goal blocked on its first drive and was outgained by 84 total yards.
When all was said and done, Louisville football did cover a 10-point spread that was bet down to 8.5 by kickoff. And the Cards are now 1-0 in conference and undefeated on the season.
So, what was it that made things so weird? And should Cards fans be concerned going forward?
A Macro View of Georgia Tech Win
Let’s start with a 10,000 foot view of this game first by looking at the Cards’ offensive possessions.
There weren’t a lot of them. In fact, the Cards only ran 12 true offensive plays the entire second half.
If you take away the final drive, which was essentially Louisville football running out the clock and then taking a couple of knees, the Cardinals only had 7 possessions all game. Here’s how they went.
In the first half, Louisville executed reasonably well on offense.
The Cards drove as deep at the Georgia Tech 32 yard line before settling for a 52-yard attempt on drive 1.
Drive 2 ended with a Louisville punt, but the ball was downed at the 6 yard line and resulted in a defensive touchdown from the Cards 3 plays later.
Drives 3-6 were likely Louisville’s best of the game. They scored a touchdown on drive 3 and 6, kicked a short field goal on drive 4, and were halted by excessive penalties on drive 5.
Ultimately, it was the two drives to end the first half and and start of the second half that likely made the game closer than we should come to expect.
On drive 4, Louisville hit on big plays to Chris Bell and Jamari Johnson, while converting a fourth-down pass to Don Chaney. The drive, which started at the Louisville 15, saw the Cards get inside the Georgia Tech 10 yard line.
Ultimately, Louisville could not convert on 3 consecutive running plays. A toss to Keyjuan Brown was a potential touchdown, or a first down at minimum. However, an untimely missed block from Rasheed Miller led to Brown reversing course and losing his footing.
The first half’s final drive should have seen Louisville football reaching pay dirt. A first down and subsequent touchdown would have drained the clock.
Louisville likely should have led 21-7 at the half, but that sequence of run plays led to a short field goal for the Cards and left enough time on the clock for Tech to drive the field for a score. A 10-point swing.
Drive five, the first of the second half, was the oddest of the game. 2 massive Louisville plays were called back on penalties, resulting in an eventual punt.
Where Louisville football goes from here
Where does this leave us? With that sense of nervousness- Of feeling incomplete.
The game was shortened and odd because two Louisville offense drives were essentially taken away, while another was a one-play safety. Two drives were halted by excessive penalties.
As fans we feel that the game was incomplete, because it was.
And coming off of a bye week and two buy games, there’s a nervousness around whether or not the Cards are ready to execute on a massive stage vs Notre Dame.
Let’s dive in to the Notre Dame matchup with everything you need to know.
Who: Louisville (3-0, 1-0) at Notre Dame (3-1)
Where: Notre Dame Stadium | South Bend, IN
When: Saturday, September 28th, 2024 at 3:30 PM
How to Watch: PEACOCK
Okay, I think I need to stop right here to remind the reader that this game is NOT on traditional television.
The ONLY way to watch this matchup will be to stream it on PEACOCK.
PEACOCK is accessible via a web browser on your computer, an app on your phone, or an application on your smart TV or smart device.
How to Listen: 93.9 FM in Louisville
Series History: Notre Dame leads 3-2
Last Meeting: Louisville won 34-20 in 2023
Spread Check: Notre Dame -7
Thread Check:
Anyway, here’s the Notre Dame uniforms that they had to have a team meeting or something to decide if they deserve to wear them.
I think they should have another team meeting just to make sure.
On to second down. See ya there.
