Notre Dame Could've Folded After Early Mistakes vs Louisville, But Didn’t

The Irish avoided a "here we go again" nightmare scenario in the big win over Louisville

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (4) celebrates scoring a touchdown during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Louisville at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame got off to another rocky start at home

For the third time in as many tries, Notre Dame got off to a slow start at home in Notre Dame Stadium. After a fumbled opening kickoff followed by a poor quick change defensive series which allowed Louisville to quickly grab momentum and a 7-0 lead, Notre Dame had options.

The Irish could've gotten deflated and discouraged leading to an uninspired loss to a Louisville team for a second year in a row. But that didn't happen. Notre Dame responded to their early mistakes emphatically with a touchdown drive of its own followed by a great defensive play to get the ball back again soon after.

This resilience was refreshing.

IRISH WIN#GoIrish☘️ | @Gatorade pic.twitter.com/2tI4Q3RSkv

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 28, 2024

Notre Dame showed growth today as a program

This win was not a thing of beauty. There will be no documentaries made about it years from now. But it was so important for the Notre Dame program and its direction moving forward.

Notre Dame could not afford two losses before October and avoided it. Job well done. This was a resilient win in a pressure-packed situation.

This is the kind of win that should energize the team while they work to get healthier over the bye week. The Irish now have 2 ranked wins on their resume heading into the break and hope to emerge revitalized against Stanford in a couple of weeks.

This was a bigger win for Notre Dame than it'll ever be known for being given what's at stake weekly after the unfortunate Week 2 loss.

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