Notre Dame vs Louisville: Irish Must Break the Pattern of Play at Notre Dame Stadium

Can Notre Dame play a complete game at Notre Dame Stadium?

Sep 21, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman leads his team onto the field for the game against the Miami Redhawks at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Notre Dame vs Louisville

What could go wrong? The same things that already have

Each week, one of my tasks here is to worry.

And to write about what can go wrong for Notre Dame in any given game. Is this the most fun article I produce in any given week? No, it isn't. But it may be the most important.

What could go wrong for Notre Dame this week? It could continue to play lackadaisical football in front of its home crowd for an uncomfortable, and sometimes insurmountable amount of time.

Notre Dame is 0-2 in terms of getting off too solid starts at home this year. With it's CFP hopes on the line, it cannot afford to stretch this to 0-3.

Louisville running back Jawhar Jordan scored on a 21 yard run in the fourth quarter as the Louisville Cardinals defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 33-20 on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023 / Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal and USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

Louisville seems to have Notre Dame's number

Louisville is a very interesting team to follow. They are well coached by an underrated Jeff Brohm and always seem to maximize output relative to the overall talent in the building.

They also seem to have a penchant for playing Notre Dame tough. Notre Dame must be properly prepared and motivated for this moment. I know Louisville will be.

Another added layer of nuance is the fact that both Riley Leonard and Sam Hartman, Notre Dame's last two quarterbacks struggled against the Cardinals before transferring to Notre Dame.

In 2023, that trend continued as Hartman did not have a good game and Notre Dame lost. Can Riley Leonard break this trend? Irish CFP hopes depend on it.

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