South Bend, Indiana– The Louisville Cardinals rolled into South Bend aiming to upset the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for a second consecutive year. With the all-time series tied at two games each, today’s contest was highly anticipated.
Rain began to fall just before kickoff, affecting the early possessions. Louisville capitalized first when Notre Dame fumbled the opening kickoff, allowing Louisville to recover at the Irish 24-yard line. Three plays later, Tyler Shough connected with Isaac Brown on a 10-yard pass, putting the Cardinals up 7-0 just 1:30 into the game.
Notre Dame responded quickly, marching 75 yards on 12 plays to tie the game at 7. Quarterback Riley Leonard completed a critical 4th-and-3 pass to Jayden Thomas, and Jeremiyah Love capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.
On the next kickoff, Louisville’s Isaac Brown fumbled the ball, but the Cardinals managed to recover deep in their own territory. A big 46-yard run by Shough was soon undone when he was stripped from behind, and Notre Dame’s Jaiden Ausberry recovered the ball.
The Irish wasted no time, scoring again after just four plays. Leonard threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Jadarian Greathouse, putting the Irish ahead 14-7. The Irish defense held Louisville on the next possession, forcing a punt that went awry.
A bad snap allowed Notre Dame to recover the ball at the Louisville 4-yard line, and Leonard quickly punched it in for another touchdown.
The first quarter ended with Notre Dame leading 21-7.
Early in the second quarter, Notre Dame fumbled on their first play of the drive, giving Louisville excellent field position at the Irish 9-yard line. The Cardinals capitalized with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Shough to Ja’Corey Brooks, cutting the lead to 21-14.
Both defenses stepped up for a few possessions before Louisville began a promising drive. However, Shough’s pass was intercepted by Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts. The Irish turned that turnover into points with a 48-yard field goal by Mitch Jeter, extending their lead to 24-14.
Louisville responded with a lengthy 10-play drive, but the Irish defense held strong on a 4th-and-1 stop at their own 15-yard line. Notre Dame then ran out the clock to end the first half with a 24-14 lead.
After halftime, neither team could get much going offensively. Both sides had three possessions in the third quarter, but neither managed to score.
Early in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame failed to convert on a 4th-and-3 at the Louisville 46-yard line. Louisville moved the ball downfield and kicked a 56-yard field goal from Brock Travelstead, reducing the deficit to 24-17. The Cardinals, in hurry-up mode, quickly answered with a 14-play, 70-yard drive, as Shough and Brooks linked up for their second touchdown of the game, narrowing the score to 31-24.
The Cardinals’ defense then forced a Notre Dame three-and-out, giving Louisville one last chance with 2:51 remaining. However, Notre Dame’s defense held firm, stopping the Cardinals on four plays and allowing the Irish to run out the clock.
Despite Louisville winning the time of possession battle (32:04 to 27:56) and out gaining the Irish (395 total yards to 280), they couldn’t overcome their three turnovers. Notre Dame improved to 4-1, while Louisville dropped to 3-1 with their first loss of the season.
