By Justin O’Neal
The 16th-ranked University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish earned a hard-fought 31-24 victory against No. 15 Louisville in a marquee matchup in front of a sold-out Notre Dame Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The Irish earned the ninth ranked victory in the Marcus Freeman era by taking an early 21-7 lead, forcing three turnovers and holding off a late charge from the Cardinals. Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard threw for 163 yards and two touchdowns, added another touchdown on the ground while also leading the team with 52 rushing yards. Leonard’s touchdowns went to Jaden Greathouse and Jeremiyah Love.
Freshman cornerback Leonard Moore, making his first career start, led the team with seven tackles and senior safety Xavier Watts picked off his second pass of the season and broke up Louisville’s final pass of the evening on a desperation fourth-down throw.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame got off to a rocky start in the highly anticipated top-20 matchup. On the very first kick return, the Irish fumbled the ball and Louisville recovered. After the special teams mishap, Louisville wasted no time capitalizing off the momentum swing as they scored on the third play of their drive. Senior Quarterback Tyler Shough threw it up to the back pylon and freshman Isaac Brown brought it in for a touchdown. In a flash, the Irish were trailing 7-0.
Notre Dame responded well. Leonard was able to showcase his dual-threat ability as he led the Irish down the field through the air and with his legs. Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock dialed up plays that complimented Leonard’s skillset, moving the pocket consistently to keep the threat of the quarterback run on the minds of the Cardinal defense. The drive culminated in a six-yard touchdown up the middle by Jeremiyah Love.
The next drive started and ended in a wild turn of events. Louisville’s quarterback took a keeper 43 yards down the field, only for the ball to be punched out by Leonard Moore and recovered by Jaiden Ausberry. Notre Dame had the ball once again and all the momentum.
At this point, everything was clicking for the Irish. After a big run down the sideline by Jadarian Price, Leonard threw a beautiful 34 yard touchdown up the seam to Jaden Greathouse. In just four plays, the Irish had the lead 14-7.
Notre Dame was firing on all cylinders. They quickly stopped Louisville on their next drive and forced a punt. The Cardinals made a fatal mistake however, as a bad…