A high-flying offense and a questionable defense await Notre Dame in Louisville tonight, though some questions should be asked about the Cardinals’ offense, too.
No. 25 Louisville lives and dies by the big play. Containing those will be the greatest key for No. 25 Notre Dame on Saturday night, and some of that will stem from the Irish offense getting off to a quick start.
Jeff Brohm has jumped out to a 5-0 start as his alma mater’s head coach thanks to an offense relying on the big play. If Notre Dame slows that, how will Louisville most likely adjust?
Notre Dame will struggle to make a strong closing statement this season, through no fault of its own, as Wake Forest and Stanford look worse and worse.
Notre Dame got away with one at Duke on Saturday, winning 21-14, late-game worries breaking the Irish way this week both by design and because of past mistakes that Marcus Freeman learned from.
How Notre Dame pulled off a fourth-quarter shock on Saturday: Sam Hartman’s 4th-and-16, Audric Estimé’s ill-advised touchdown and Howard Cross’s game-sealing fumble.
A shorthanded Notre Dame offense struggled all night at Duke on Saturday night, right up until literally the last minute. Audric Estimé’s 30-yard touchdown run gets the Irish a comeback victory.
How will No. 11 Notre Dame respond to last week’s gut-wrenching loss, facing a top-20 opponent on the road tonight? Expect the Irish to focus on their most-basic strategy, their rushing attack.
The Irish have supposedly long struggled against ranked opponents. Some of that should have been expected. Some of it was overblown. What edge does Notre Dame have tonight to silence the Duke atmosphere?
Notre Dame is in rather good shape physically, but a hangover can be more than physical, and if the Irish show up hungover at Duke, it could mean Ohio State beats Notre Dame twice for the second year in a row.
Duke has long been a college football doormat, enjoying only a year or two of success at a time and usually decades apart. Mike Elko has conjured up two seasons of success in only his second season as Blue Devils head coach. Can he continue that stretch as an underdog this Saturday night?
Any top-line Notre Dame upset or near-upset in the last seven years depended on an opposing injury or hopes of a fluke play. The Irish didn’t need either Saturday. They lost, but they know they should have won, and that will carry forward through the rest of the 2023 season.
Notre Dame will long wonder if it would have made a dramatic goal-line stop if it had played at full strength, but a last-second substitution mistake left the Irish shorthanded when it mattered most on Saturday night.
A clutch fourth-quarter drive led by Sam Hartman and a stellar Irish defensive performance fall just short against the Buckeyes, falling 17-14 on a last-second goal-line touchdown.
A year ago, Notre Dame’s best defense against Ohio State was the sputtering Irish offense. Now, Notre Dame might trust its defense enough to let Sam Hartman and the Irish offense play to its peak in Saturday’s top-10 tilt.
Notre Dame Stadium has filled with red before, in three notable and memorable losses this century. Rare trips to South Bend have that effect. There is nothing more to it.
Notre Dame’s next four opponents all remain undefeated, with all four looking likely to be that way when they meet the Irish, obviously beginning with No. 6 Ohio State this Saturday night.
