Notre Dame Football: Louisville Week a Major Measuring Stick for Marcus Freeman

How far has Notre Dame come in 2 1/2 years under Marcus Freeman? Saturday will tell us a ton

Nick Shepkowski | Sep 23, 2024

Sep 21, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman prepares to lead his players onto the field for the game against the Miami Redhawks at Notre Dame Stadium. / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame moved up one spot in the AP Poll rankings this week after beating Miami (Ohio) 28-3 on Saturday.

In a season that was built as College Football Playoff or bust, Notre Dame now essentially needs to win out if it's going to make the first 12-team tournament.

Perhaps the best team it'll face the final eight games comes Saturday when unbeaten No. 15 Louisville comes to South Bend. Not only will it decide if Notre Dame's playoff hopes will remain alive another week or not, it'll also be a huge measuring stick in terms of the growth of the program under Marcus Freeman.

Notre Dame's College Football Playoff or Bust to be Put to Test

1️⃣6️⃣ in the AP Poll#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/fMMUhRSy9u
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 22, 2024

Heading into the season it was "College Football Playoffs or bust" according to just about everyone associated with Notre Dame football in any capacity.

As soon as the season opening game ended with a 23-13 victory at Texas A&M, the expectation went from just earning a spot in the field to hosting a first round playoff game.

Then the debacle against Northern Illinois happened and everything suddenly came to the table. Whether Northern Illinois goes 11-1 or not doesn't matter, that was a poor loss against a team Notre Dame had far more talent than.

Instead of having wiggle room and being able to make the playoff field with a pair of losses to the potential likes of Louisville and USC, the Northern Illinois loss might as well count as two defeats. There is no wiggle room as no potential College Football Playoff team will have a worse loss than that one this year.

Louisville a Measuring Stick of Growth for Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman

BLOCKED.
RETURNED.
TAYON HOLLOWAY TO THE HOUSE.

📺 ESPN2#GoCards pic.twitter.com/d9qljmVt6C
— Louisville Football (@LouisvilleFB) September 21, 2024

Scott Satterfield got Louisville's football program back on track after an awful run from Bobby Petrino that ended in 2018. Satterfield led Louisville to an 8-5 season in 2019, one year after going just 2-10.

But things stalled for Satterfield and the Cardinals, going just 17-19 his final three seasons before he left to take the Cincinnati job following the 2022 season. That gave Louisville the chance to bring former quarterback Jeff Brohm home after he had led a successful run as Purdue's head coach.

Since being hired following the 2022 season, Brohm has led Louisville to a 13-4 overall record and had the Cardinals in the ACC Championship game last season. He also led Louisville to a 33-20 win over Notre Dame last season that wasn't as close as the final score indicates.

How have the two programs grown since last year's rout in Louisville?

The Cardinals look like a team with a great chance to make a run for the roses, or more specifically, a spot in the ACC Championship game again this December.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman have the program that enters Saturday's game hanging by a thread to its CFP hopes. A win would certainly make that possibility seem a bit more likely, but a loss, like last year's did, would boot Notre Dame from the College Football Playoff discussion for good this year.

No pressure.