This is the big one that Louisville fans have been waiting all season for. The Cardinals are 5-0 coming into tonight’s prime time game and they knew they needed to start off strong to make a statement with a top ten win over Notre Dame.
Louisville expected its largest crowd in history in this game, and they were loud all night knowing this was the highest ranked opponent they’ll see all season.
Notre Dame is coming off a good road win against top 20 ranked Duke last weekend, which gives them confidence going on the road again in a tough environment.
Jeff Brohm has knocked off highly ranked teams in the past, but everyone wanted to see if he could take Louisville to the next level in his first season, and that’s exactly what he’s done.
The Cardinals were able to rely heavily on their great defense to keep the Notre Dame offense in check for the entire game. Louisville played well enough on offense to pile a lead up after a much needed big game from star running back Jawhar Jordan. They played nearly perfect in the second half, putting up 26 points in route to the biggest win to begin the Brohm era.
Game recap and analysis:
It couldn’t have started any better for the Cards, forcing Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman to toss up an easy interception to Quincy Riley that gave momentum to Louisville right from the jump. The Cardinals were then able to capitalize off that with a nice drive that ended in a nine-yard touchdown pass from Jack Plummer to Jamari Thrash to punch the Fighting Irish in the mouth and make the score 7-0. Notre Dame stormed back a couple drives later with a 36-yard touchdown pass of their own after multiple blown coverages from the Cardinals, which tied the score 7-7.
Both defenses were stingy the whole first half, as neither offense could settle in and find a consistent rhythm. Louisville’s defense was getting pressure from their front seven that made it difficult for the Fighting Irish to pass the ball downfield, as well as run. Their head coach Marcus Freeman had no answer for Ron English’ defensive scheme. Louisville had more opportunities to move the ball, but weren’t executing as much as they hoped to. They finally got a positive drive at the end of the half to set up a 42-yard kick, but Brock Travelstead missed it wide right to keep the game tied at halftime.
Receiving the ball to start the third quarter, the Cards looked to get back to scoring points, but Jamari Thrash fumbled the ball on the first play, a rarity from him. Good thing his defense played well on nearly every drive of the game. Notre Dame got the ball in good field position and still only got to attempt a field goal, putting them up by three points. Louisville answered right back and let Brock Travelstead redeem himself with a 44-yard field goal, tying the game again.
No matter what Notre Dame drew up on offense, this Louisville defense had a response for it. They had no run game all night, and not enough time to pass, because the Cardinals front seven continued to collapse the pocket.
After a few possessions in the second half, Jeff Brohm’s offense was finally able to come to life with explosive runs from Jawhar Jordan, one of the top running backs in the country. Jordan rushed for a 45-yard touchdown to take all momentum in the game back and put his team ahead by a touchdown. This was the first big play on offense of the game for Louisville, so it felt good to break away for a huge touchdown. “Jaws” came right back and ended the very next drive with a 21-yard touchdown rush to increase Louisville’s lead to double digits after the Fighting Irish scored another field goal the drive before. The crowd was roaring for 50 minutes straight, but after that touchdown is when they knew a win was going to follow. Jordan ended the game with 143 yards on 21 rushes and two touchdowns.
Coach Brohm didn’t play as aggressively as he normally does, but he wanted to make sure his offense took care of the football and not let Notre Dame get any opportunity to get back into the game. His game-plan worked almost perfectly and his team was able to control the clock for the rest of the fourth quarter. The Cardinals’ defense was too much for Sam Hartman once again, who ended the game with five total turnovers and he was sacked five times. Louisville looks well balanced on both sides of the football this season, which is why they’re moving to 6-0 for the first time since 2013. Huge win for the entire city who hasn’t felt this good about football in a decade. They will most likely find themselves inside the top 15 after this performance, with a chance to keep moving up as long as they continue to win and play smart football. It hasn’t been perfect for the Cardinals, but they couldn’t be happier with a 6-0 start to the year.
Louisville will look to keep their undefeated season going next week on the road against Pitt at 6:30 P.M. (ET).
