Gameday Central: Louisville football vs. Notre Dame

Forget these nerds from South Bend. Let’s get rowdy.

Let’s get something straight real quick. When Notre Dame walks into L&N Stadium on Saturday evening for a midseason top-25 showdown, it won’t be the first raucous environment the Golden Domers will have faced. Just last week, college gameday visited a quality Duke program and fans lived up to the hype. But when Louisville football faithful begin to pile in, I expect the most insane crowd in program history. In fact, I won’t accept anything less.

I’ve been saying it since the schedule was released. If the Cards can get to this Notre Dame game unscathed, electricity will be in the air. A booze-infused time bomb of pent-up energy, aggression, and pure exuberance perhaps never felt on gameday in Louisville, Kentucky.

A convocation of jubilation. A mass of misery for the opposition. Thousands burning to send a message. Not that we are better than Notre Dame. Not even that we will win. But, simply that we are here. And we are here to stay.

Louisville football has never been Notre Dame football. It never will be; Nor does it desire to be.

But it’s the connections that create only a few degrees of separation between the two schools. The haves and the have-nots. The golden children and, for decades, the ugly duckling.

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Louisville football fans have a history with Notre Dame.

Given the predominantly catholic roots of our fair city, many in this area grew up Notre Dame fans. For decades, Notre Dame was the team to watch. While Louisville football nearly closed up shop in the 70s and 80s.

For much of their existence, there could not have been more of a disparity between the Cards and Irish as programs and, frankly, as fan bases.

Notre Dame is still one of the top brands in college or pro football. The Irish still have a massive following and storied program. Hell, they are doing well enough that they survived multiple iterations of conference realignment as an independent school with its own national TV contract.

But over the last 30 years, things have slowly changed and evolved.

While Notre Dame is still a top-notch team year in and out, the stranglehold it once had on the sport has loosened. The program has played plenty of massive games in that time. But, somehow, some way, Louisville football has won 2 New Year’s 6/ BCS-level games since the last time the Irish won one.

In that time, Louisville found its place in a power conference, then made its way into another historic Power 5 conference when the previous one folded. Louisville has spent considerable time in the top 25, improving in different ways during each era.

Sure, there have been challenges. There have been steps back for the Cards. Some coaches faltered, others left, and there was a lack of late-game heroics in times when they were oh-so-close.

But, overall, Louisville football has found itself on an upward trajectory, becoming a nationally respected program in the process.

Louisville plays in a relatively posh stadium drawing national audiences and often springing big-time upsets. It boasted a Heisman trophy winner, climbed as high as No. 3 in the national rankings, and made itself a program to be recognized over and over.

Now, the program is looking to take its biggest step yet: Becoming a college football playoff mainstay under hometown hero Jeff Brohm.

While Brohm is not off to a sizzling start, Louisville football is 5-0 under his leadership. He is the 1st head coach in 98 years to win his first five games. And, no matter how his Cardinals got there, they are in solo first place at 3-0 in the ACC for the first time, and in a position where Brohm has always been incredibly dangerous.

Brohm sprang 3 top 5 upsets in his last stop at Purdue and led a historically bad program to a Big Ten title game a season ago. He was 7-10 against top 10 opponents over the last 6 years.

Now, he fields perhaps his most talented roster ever, looking to find that magic one more time.

For Louisville football fans, now feels like the time.

We filled Notre Dame Stadium in the first-ever matchup in 2014, coming out victorious behind the arm and legs of hometown hero Reggie Bonnafon. In Notre Dame’s return trip, Cards fans sold out L&N stadium coming off a 2-10 season in 2019. The Cards came close to pulling out another victory in South Bend in 2020.

But, now? Now it feels more like Louisville football has its best chance ever to springboard into the playoff conversation with a victory this week.

Notre Dame rose as high as No. 9 in the AP Poll 2 weeks ago and sits at No. 10 right now- Still squarely in the playoff picture as well. If the Cards are able to pull out the victory, it would go a long way in boosting the resume with No. 19 Duke, No. 17 Miami, and No. 20 Kentucky still on the horizon.

But, right now, the focus for the Cards and their fans is squarely on the Irish.

The win in 2014 showed that the tides were beginning to turn. But a win in 2023 would prove that Louisville football is here to stay.

We have the coach. We have the players. The support is there. And now, we begin to add to the pedigree.

Notre Dame. Louisville. Let’s dive in.

First Down: What to know

Who: Notre Dame (5-1) at Louisville (5-0, 3-0)

Where: L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium | Louisville, KY

What: First Louisville sellout since 2019 | First top 10 foe since Wake in 2022

When: Saturday, October 7th, 2023 at 7:30 PM

How to Watch: ABC

How to Listen: 93.9 FM in Louisville

Series History: Notre Dame leads 2-1

Last Meeting: Notre Dame won 12-7 in 2020

Spread Check: Notre Dame +6.5 | O/U 54

Thread Check: These jawns.

Weather Check: 52 at kickoff (!)

Vibe Check: 2016 Florida State feels

Second Down: Depth Chart

Quarterback

13 Jack Plummer (6-5, 215, Sr.)
19 Brock Domann (6-2, 225, Sr.)
OR 15 Harrison Bailey (6-5, 230, Jr.)
OR 6 Evan Conley (6-2, 210, Sr.)
OR 10 Pierce Clarkson (6-1, 190, Fr.)
OR 12 Brady Allen (6-6, 220, R-Fr.)

Running Back

25 Jawhar Jordan (5-10, 185, R-Jr.)
4 Maurice Turner (5-10, 190, So.)
23 Isaac Guerendo (6-1, 225, Sr.)

Wide Receiver

1 Jamari Thrash (6-1, 180, R-Jr.)
2 Jadon Thompson (6-2, 185, Jr.)

Wide Receiver

3 Kevin Coleman Jr. (5-11, 180, So.)
OR 9 Ahmari Huggins-Bruce (5-10, 170, Jr.)

Wide Receiver

7 Jimmy Calloway (6-0, 190, R-So.)
OR 0 Chris Bell (6-2, 225, So.)

Tight End

42 Josh Lifson (6-3, 235, Gr.)
OR 85 Nate Kurisky (6-3, 235, So.)
OR 84 Joey Gatewood (6-4, 245, R-Sr.)
OR 11 Jamari Johnson (6-5, 265, Fr.)

Left Tackle

55 Willie Tyler III (6-6, 320, R-Sr.)
70 Trevonte Sylvester (6-6, 280, R-So.)

Left Guard

68 Michael Gonzalez (6-4, 305, Jr.)
67 John Paul Flores (6-4, 305, R-Sr.)

Center

61 Bryan Hudson (6-5, 305, R-Sr.)
51 Austin Collins (6-3, 290, R-So.)

Right Guard

56 Renato Brown (6-4, 315, R-Jr.)
71 Joshua Black (6-2, 280-R-Jr.)

Right Tackle

74 Eric Miller (6-7, 305, R-Sr.)
77 Vincent Lumia (6-2, 295, Sr.)

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Defensive End

9 Ashton Gillotte (6-3, 270, Jr.)
15 Kameron Wilson (6-2, 230, R-So.)
32 Ryheem Craig (6-3, 235, R-So.)

Nose Tackle

99 Dezmond Tell (6-1, 290, Jr.)
OR 91 Tawfiq Thomas (6-4, 300, So.)
44 Selah Brown (6-2, 285, So.)

Defensive Tackle

41 Ramon Puryear (6-3, 270, R-Jr.)
58 Jeffery Clark (6-0, 290, R-Jr.)
OR 90 Jermayne Lole (6-3, 310, Gr.)
OR 93 Jared Dawson (6-2, 305, R-So.),

Leo (DE/LB)

14 Stephen Herron (6-3, 240, R-Sr.)
95 Mason Reiger (6-4, 250, Jr.)
15 Kameron Wilson (6-2, 230, R-So.)
12 Popeye Williams (6-3, 250, So.)
OR 98 Adonijah Green (6-6, 225, Fr.)

Middle Linebacker

24 Jaylin Alderman (6-1, 230, Jr.)
22 Keith Brown (6-2, 235, Jr.)
6 Stanquan Clark (6-3, 230, Fr.)

Weakside Linebacker

34 T.J. Quinn (6-1, 230, R-So.)
13 Gilbert Frierson (6-1, 220, R-Sr.)
17 Jackson Hamilton (6-1, 220, R-So.)

STAR (LB/S)

10 Benjamin Perry (6-3, 205, R-So.)
35 Antonio Watts (6-2, 225, So.)

Cornerback

2 Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (6-0, 190, Jr.)
29 Storm Duck (6-1, 200, R-Sr.)

Cornerback

3 Quincy Riley (6-0, 185, R-Jr.)
28 Trey Franklin (5-10, 185, R-Jr.)
30 Derrick Edwards III (5-11, 180, R-So.)

Free Safety

5 Josh Minkins (6-2, 200, Jr.)
11 Cam’Ron Kelly (6-2, 210, R-Sr.)

Free Safety

27 Devin Neal (6-0, 210, Jr.)
11 Cam’Ron Kelly (6-2, 210, R-Sr.)

Punter

40 Brock Travelstead (6-1, 205, Jr.)
OR 39 Carter Schwartz (6-4, 215, Fr.)
OR 93 Brady Hodges (6-1, 200, Jr.)

Placekicker

40 Brock Travelstead (6-1, 205, Jr.)
92 Nick Lopez (6-1, 190, R-Sr.)

Holder

93 Brady Hodges (6-1, 200, Jr.)
39 Carter Schwartz (6-4, 215, Fr.)

Long Snapper

48 Shai Kochav (6-3, 240, R-So.)
32 Hayden Travelstead (6-0, 200, Fr.)

Kick Returner

25 Jawhar Jordan (5-10, 185, R-Jr.)
23 Isaac Guerendo (6-1, 225, Sr.)

Punt Returner

3 Kevin Coleman Jr. (5-11, 180, So.)
3 Quincy Riley (6-0, 185, R-Jr.)
9 Ahmari Huggins-Bruce (5-11, 170, Jr.)

3rd Down: What to Watch For

How do both teams handle the environment?

Notre Dame is coming off a thrilling come-from-behind victory in a great atmosphere on the road at Duke.

That is a week after a heartbreaking last-second defeat in front of a wild crowd in South Bend the week before.

Next week, Notre Dame returns home to host a high-powered USC squad.

Along the way, the Irish traveled to Raleigh to face NC State.

But, right here, right now, the Irish will face their toughest road crowd yet. Will Louisville football be too much to handle, or will the experience of playing in hostile environments serve Notre Dame well?

Louisville, on the other hand, shouldn’t have much trouble getting up for this game.

Last week, the Cardinals showed a ton of resolve against an experienced Wolfpack squad in a pretty loud atmosphere.

They will, again, need veterans to lead with some resoluteness and not come out of the gates running too hot.

Jeff Brohm “trick play” alert at Threat Level Midnight

We have no idea what it will entail, but I think everyone in L&N Stadium on Saturday knows that Jeff Brohm will be in his bag.

You’ve seen it time and time again with Brohm in big-time games. The big plays are going to be dialed up and they are coming fast and furious.

The Brohms and the rest of the coaching staff have had periods of aggressive play-calling. But they’ve also been relatively traditional in their approach more often than not.

I don’t expect that to be the case at all on Saturday. Flea flickers, end-arounds, fake flea flickers, reverses, fake punts, and field goals. We’ve seen these types of plays work to perfection for years.

The momentum should slant massively in the favor of Louisville football. I’d expect the offensive play-callers to lean on that and get aggressive early and often.

How do Sam Hartman and Jack Plummer bounce back?

We’ve all talked about this for months. Sam Hartman was thrown to the wolves last season in L&N Stadium as Wake Forest’s QB and came out of a 6 turnover 3rd quarter looking like rookie year Sam Darnold.

This year, Hartman has been prolific for the Irish. He has 14 TDs to no INTs. He has racked up nearly 1,500 passing yards and has adjusted well to a much more traditional Notre Dame offense.

Undoubtedly, Hartman has this game circled on his calendar. The 48-21 trouncing was likely the worst performance of his career, and kind of led to a downward spiral that saw his days at Wake end on a sour note.

This season, the stakes are far higher. But so far, Hartman has done well to withstand the test.

When the Notre Dame defense trots out, it will be lining up against a familiar foe in Jack Plummer.

Facing the Irish for the 3rd time in 3 years for 3 different teams, Plummer has been pretty average in his first two tries.

Plummer has completed 56% of his passes in two trips to South Bend going for 371 yards, 2 TDs, and no interceptions. Last season for Cal, he ran 12 times for 34 yards and a score.

It should be noted that, a season ago, Plummer and the Golden Bears were leading 17-14 early in the fourth quarter before giving up 10 unanswered. To be fair to Notre Dame, however, that was the 3rd game of the Marcus Freeman era. The Irish did well to right the ship and finish the season 9-4.

This time around for Plummer, he has home-field advantage and a much more impressive cast of playmakers in his arsenal.

Plummer has been a mixed bag for Louisville football. 2 weeks ago, he completed 86% of his passes and scored 6 touchdowns. Last week, he made some inexcusable untimely decisions that nearly cost his team the game at NC State.

Louisville football will need to see the best version of Jack Plummer to have a shot. Does the fifth-year senior have it in him?

Can Louisville football re-establish the rushing attack?

Louisville football was on a war path running the ball through four games. Jawhar Jordan was averaging right at 10 yards per carry. Life was good.

Then, the Cards faced a quality run defense. And, well, things went south rather quickly.

It should be noted that Plummer’s struggles in the passing game and getting down by 10 in the first half led to the Cards abandoning the typical run game a bit.

But UofL was definitely not running it at will as we’d become accustomed to.

Notre Dame is 55th nationally in rush defense. Not incredible, but better than anyone Louisville has faced this season, save NC State.

The Irish allowed 189 yards on the ground a week ago to Duke. They gave up 126 to Ohio State. So, there is precedent for a door being open.

Louisville football needs to establish a consistent passing game again in order to get things going on the ground.