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Notre Dame Football: Top Storylines vs. Louisville

By Connor McJunkin

SAN DIEGO, CA - OCTOBER 27: Helmets of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish near the bench area in the 2nd half against the Navy Midshipmen at SDCCU Stadium on October 27, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA - OCTOBER 27: Helmets of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish near the bench area in the 2nd half against the Navy Midshipmen at SDCCU Stadium on October 27, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images) /
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SOUTH BEND, IN – OCTOBER 13: Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly stands in the tunnel in front of his team before the game against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Notre Dame Stadium on October 13, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

Starting Off Hot

Whether the Irish are opening up the season vs a ranked Michigan squad or a Louisville team that only won two games a season ago – the object remains the same: start the season off right with a victory.

During the Brian Kelly era, Notre Dame has had success in season openers, posting a 7-2 record and averaging over 36 points per game. The only two losses came vs Texas in 2016 and USF in 2011.

Not much needs to be said about the importance of starting the season off on the right foot, but in this scenario, there is some added pressure heading into Louisville for the Monday night matchup.

For starters, this will be the first look at the Irish — for Notre Dame fans and the rest of the country — since the blowout loss to Clemson that left such a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Although it’s an entirely new season, there will be extra eyes on this game to see how this team has reloaded and rebounded.

Next, first impressions matter. When you’re coming off a 12-win season and CFP appearance, there are certain expectations when playing a team that went 2-10 a season ago. Louisville is one of the worst teams in the ACC, and there’s a reason the Irish are heavy favorites.

Notre Dame has made it a habit of sometimes playing down to the level of their competition (Ball State, Vanderbilt, Pitt), and if they truly want to start changing the perception around the program, it starts with making the easy games look easy.

Truth be told this game shouldn’t be close for very long, and every mistake made that allows  Louisville to hang around will be met with a lot of scrutiny, since expectations for this program are so high.

By night’s end the only goal will be to leave Louisville 1-0, but how you win games is sometimes just as important as winning the game. If the Irish are taking that next step and proving they are shifting toward that elite status of current college football programs, they need to start hot and not miss a beat vs the Cardinals.

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