Watch: Jeff Brohm, Mark Ivey and Louisville Players Preview Notre Dame

The head coach of the Cardinals, as well as linebackers coach Mark Ivey, quarterback Tyler Shough and linebacker T.J. Quinn met with the media to discuss their upcoming matchup vs. the Fighting Irish.

Sep 7, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm reacts on the sideline during the second half against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Louisville defeated Jacksonville State 49-14. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Coming out of a bye week to hosting Georgia Tech in their first ACC matchup of the season, the Louisville football program was able to overcome various miscues to secure a hard-fought victory, making plays in all three phases of the game to help give them a 31-19 win on Saturday at L&N Stadium.

Next up, Louisville hits the road for the first time this season, traveling up to South Bend for a massive showdown with Notre Dame. Kickoff against the Fighting Irisg is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28 at 3:30 p.m. EST.

Prior to their upcoming matchup, head coach Jeff Brohm, linebackers coach Mark Ivey, quarterback Tyler Shough and linebacker T.J. Quinn took time to meet with the media. They discussed the previous game vs. Georgia Tech, previewed the upcoming game vs. Georgia Tech, and more.

Below is the partial transcript from Brohm's press conference, as well as the videos from Ivey, Shough and Quinn's press conference:

Head Coach Jeff Brohm

(Opening statement)

"Definitely excited about this weekend and the opportunity ahead for our football team. It will be a great chance to test and see exactly how we stack up against one of the nation’s best. I know our team is looking forward to having a great week of practice and trying to get better each and every day and going out there and trying to play our best on Saturday.”

(Key to getting the right fit at QB in the portal)

“Well there are risks involved without question you know it’s not like you can go and fully scout them and get to know them. Things have to happen fast and you need to do your research and you’ve got to trust what you see but also get to know the individual as fast as you can because that position is very important. Luckily for us Tyler has come in and done a great job and really led this football team really good through three games and of course were got many tough games ahead of us; but to this point he’s played very well and has been a great addition for us.” 

(On Notre Dame and a “revenge game”)

“Without question when you lose to a certain team one year maybe when you’re supposed to win you’re going to be prepared and go above and beyond to make sure it doesn’t happen again so I’m sure they are going to do that. First off it’s a very talented football team; I mean really talented across the board. A lot of great players and they are well coached, the defense has been outstanding, they want to run the ball and use their quarterback as a runner and not turn it over; you know presents challenges. When you face those types of teams you have to find a way to kind of beat them at their game a little bit while still doing what you do well. It will present challenges for us, last year we just played very efficient football, they turned it over a lot which really hurt them. The game was still close for a while until we broke a couple runs that really shifted the momentum to us. With Notre Dame it’s important to figure out a way to get a lead and to make them do some things that they’re not as comfortable doing and when you do that you can create a little bit of advantage, but until then they are very talented and they are going to challenge you and it’s going to be a tough game for us.”

(On preparing for Notre Dame)

“Well because the game didn’t go the way they wanted to last year, we expect their best. They will be ready to play, and they will be fired up to win this football game. So that’s why we have to worry about ourselves, have a great week of practice, and come ready to play. We can’t have a lot of mistakes and there’s things we have to correct from this past week that we can’t do again, in order to keep this game close as long as can and figure out a way to win in the end. So, without question we expect their best and they will be ready to play.”

(On Riley Leonard)

“Well once again he is very similar to the quarterback we faced last week verse Georgia Tech, he can run the football, he can use his legs to win. They have done a good job this year of calling specific quarterback runs and making you defend against an extra blocker, which presents challenges. He still has the ability to throw the ball so I just think it will be another good test for our defense, we’ll have to be really sharp. Not giving up big plays will be big, not giving up big quarterback runs it’s one thing if you two, three, four sometimes five yards but big runs will be a big play. Then you know trying to stop the run, making them throw the ball vertically will be something we have to really concentrate on. They’re well coached and they’ve utilized his talents very well to this point this year. “

(Updates on injuries)

“Well like everyone we had a little injury bug this past week and Jadon (Thompson) will be out for the year with a knee injury, (Dakadrien) Saunders on the special teams play will be out for the year with a knee injury, and Quincy (Riley) will be a game time decision and Maurice (Turner) we’ll see, I’m not optimistic. We’ll continue to work through that, and those things happen and that’s why you’ve got to have depth. Other guys have to practice every week like they’re going to be on the field every play and if they are great, if they’re not they need to keep practicing every day like their numbers called because it will be called throughout the course of the year. Definitely this game will have some new pieces out there and they’ll have to perform.”

(On how similar Notre Dame is to last year) 

“It’s very similar. On defense, they’re really good. They’re well coached and they understand the package and they challenge you, they get after the quarterback and they hit him a lot. Really good up front, two outstanding defensive tackles that are really highly ranked. My old teammate, Roman Oben, his son [RJ Oben] is a defensive end transfer who’s done a good job. Their linebackers have played for a long time, they’re really good. The secondary, two outstanding players - corner and safety - and the others that are really good. So we’ll have to play well and we’ll have to be sharp in all aspects. And of course on offense, they pride themselves on running the ball and, with this quarterback [Riley Leonard], it presents more challenges. He can run the ball and he can throw it as well, but he will use his feet, they will have designated runs for him, they will make you account for him and all the plays and formations they have, which is challenging. We have to prevent him from getting yards in the running game and that will be a challenge for us and they’ve been really good at it.” 

(On the running game against Georgia Tech) 

“It was not a great day for us running the ball. Sometimes, that will happen against good teams. Could we have done some things better? Without question, we could have. We probably need to make sure we utilize certain runners on certain runs, maybe a little more specifically and make sure we’re doing what they do best. At the same time, if people are loading the box and they’re putting some guys in there, unless you’re going to use your quarterback as a runner a lot, you might have to take what they give you. That means maybe throwing the ball and doing some things when you get those looks. But, the team is disguised well now, they’re not going to show you everything they do, so you’ve just got to be good at both. Yes, being efficient running the ball helped us in the game last year. Our defense’s performance and our running game is what won us the game; being efficient and not turning the ball over won us the game. So, to this point, we have had zero turnovers and that’s hard to do. You practice it, you talk about it, but it’s hard to do. Possessions will be vital this game, and that will be the starting point: making sure we’re aggressive but smart enough to not give them more opportunities and more possessions because they will run the ball at you, they will use the clock, they will use the quarterback as a runner and we need to try to find a way to get the lead.”  

(On the importance of this game for the program) 

“Well this is a huge stage for our team. To go up there and play in this atmosphere against a really good opponent can be a huge momentum swing in our direction if we can find a way to win, without question. It gives your team credibility and definitely elevates your program, so this is one of those games that you’ve got to take advantage of. You’ve got to come ready to play, you’ve got to give it everything you’ve got, you’ve got to lay it on the line, you’ve got to be aggressive and take some shots, and you’ve got to try to win. So, our team hopefully will prepare well this week. I think we understand what this game means. It’s important like every game, but this is just a great opponent, in their venue, and that can be special if we find a way to win.” 

Linebackers Coach Mark Ivey

Quarterback Tyler Shough and Linebacker T.J. Quinn

(Photo of

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