Notre Dame Takes Down Louisville: Instant Takeaways

After a fast start, Notre Dame held on earn a huge win on Saturday

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (4) and offensive lineman Pat Coogan (78) celebrate a touchdown scored by Love 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

It started unfavorably, quickly changed, sat without much of anything for a quarter, got uncomfortable for a while, and ultimately ended up being a victory for Notre Dame on Saturday.

After a lost fumble by Notre Dame on the opening kickoff, Louisville found the end zone in just three plays but for the rest of the first quarter it was all Irish. Notre Dame scored three touchdowns before quarter's end, only to score three points for the next 35 minutes.

Whatever the case, Notre Dame got a much needed victory on Saturday, beating previously unbeaten Louisville 31-14.

Here are the instant takeaways from Notre Dame's big win.

Massive Win for Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman

Sep 28, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman leads his players into Notre Dame Stadium before the game against the Louisville Cardinals. / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

I didn't know what Notre Dame team was going to show up for Saturday's game, the biggest that Notre Dame will host this season. After a fumbled kickoff return and early touchdown by Louisville, the feeling wasn't great.

But credit to Marcus Freeman, and Mike Denbrock is owed. Notre Dame marched right down the field to even the score on its first possession and then benefited from a pair of Louisville miscues to score twice more in the first frame. The offense had major lapses and the defense did more bending than is usually desired, but ultimately it was enough to get the much needed victory.

There was doubt as to which Notre Dame team would show Saturday and this was one that was clearly ready to play, unlike we've seen in home games to date this year. This offense isn't going to be one that lights up a scoreboard at any point this year but together did enough early to be in control the entire afternoon. That said, it had its flaws, too.

Very Little Downfield Passing Game

Notre Dame's second score of the day came on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Riley Leonard to Jaden Greathouse, but from the end of the first quarter all the way until the final minutes of the third, Leonard threw for just 10 yards.

It's easy to blame the offensive line, and penalties didn't help the offense overall.

It's easy to blame the wide receivers, as drops stunted multiple drives as well.

More telling than anything with Notre Dame's downfield passing game though is the lack of attempts at it, despite playing against a team that was only 90th best nationally in yards allowed per pass attempt coming in.

Tale of Two Notre Dame Defenses

Sep 28, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Xavier Watts (0) celebrates after an interception against the Louisville Cardinals in the second quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Except reverse it.

Notre Dame's defense was largely gashed in the first half, statistically being out-gained by 60 yards by the Cardinals, despite a botched punt costing the Cardinals 43 yards. Turnovers helped cover some of the ugliness, but there was a whole lot of sweating things out when Louisville had the ball during the first half.

To Notre Dame's credit, the defense came out of halftime and stopped Louisville in a huge way the entire third quarter, allowing just a couple of first downs. While Notre Dame's offense doing virtually nothing out of the locker room, the defense did it's part in only allowing a field goal (we'll get to that) despite being asked to do everything a large portion of the half., including on Louisville's final drive of the game when it was able to force a fourth down stop and wrap up the win.

Marcus Freeman's Questionable Decision

If you've watched a Notre Dame game you see Marcus Freeman having his analytics expert near him during games, suggesting what to do in certain situations (ie: kick, go for it, accept or decline penalties)...

Louisville's only points of the third quarter came on a field goal after the Cardinals moved the ball just 17 yards. Sure, it was an impressive 57-yard field goal but it came as Marcus Freeman decided to attempt a fourth-and-three, but ran Riley Leonard straight into a box of eight defenders on a play that never had a chance. It wasn't fatal, but it played a role in this game being more competitive late than perhaps it should have.

Mike Denbrock's Great Throwback Playcall

Notre Dame's offense was doing nothing for multiple quarters as it finally started to piece together a drive early in the fourth quarter. Wanting seven to get things back to a two touchdown lead, Mike Denbrock had a great play call on throwback screen to Jeremiyah Love, who had blockers escorting him the entire way down field as his 32-yard reception capped Notre Dame's final scoring drive.

That didn't end the game, but it applied the blow that wound up being fatal shortly after.

Overall Weirdness of Game

It started with the opening kickoff when Notre Dame fumbled it away and was present through most the afternoon.

Saturday was just a strange game overall between Notre Dame and Louisville.

A couple of fumble happy teams, drops galore, strange special teams happenings, and questionable coaching decisions all factored in.

Beyond that, when is the last time you saw pass interference called on both the receiver and defensive player on the same play?

Saturday was a weird one in South Bend, but a weird one that Notre Dame needed and got.

Finally, Please Remember: It's a Win!

We're five games into the season and if you think suddenly Notre Dame's offense is going to come out and throw for 400 yards with ease, you're mistaken. This is a team that is going to have to grind things out offensively all year, but the good news is it has the talent to be able to do that more often than not.

Every Notre Dame fan went into this game wondering what team was going to show up and the one that did got a very big win even if the look of it wasn't great.

It's 4-1, has a much needed bye week before Stanford, Georgia Tech, and Navy in the middle portion of the season, and remains alive in its chase for the College Football Playoff.