Notre Dame Football vs. Louisville Gameday Primer

Everything you need to know before Notre Dame football takes on Louisville in the season opener.

In sort of an odd way to start the season, Notre Dame football kicks off the season on a Monday — Labor Day at that — against a Louisville Cardinals team looking to rebound from a terrible 2-10, 2018 season.

The Irish come into the game ranked No.9 in the country and are heavy favorites over a rebuilding Louisville.

Kickoff: 8:00 pm EST

Channel: ESPN

Location: Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, KY

Line: Notre Dame -18.5

Weather: At kickoff it will be 70 degrees with 77 percent humidity. The forecast has the chance of rain at 10 percent and winds ranging from 5 to 10 mph from the NNE.

Series History: These schools met for the first and only time on November 22, 2014 where the Irish fell to Louisville by a score of 31-28.

Top storylines: Notre Dame is looking to kickoff its season in a big way when it travels to Louisville to take on the Cardinals. Being a heavy favorite carries with it quite high expectations, and if the Irish fall behind early, some panic could ensue. Not to say Notre Dame will lose the game — they shouldn’t — however, a good start will be important for the Irish to separate themselves from what should be a very bad Louisville team, even under new head coach Scott Satterfield.

Look for whether or not the Irish can come out strong and smash a team that it should, rather than play down to the level of their competition as they have been known to do under Brian Kelly.

Injury report: Brian Kelly and Co. had a relatively quiet offseason in terms of injuries until summer camp kicked off. Not to say that Notre Dame is nursing a ton of injuries but there are a few notable ones, as are Louisville.

• Notre Dame Junior TE Cole Kmet broke his collarbone August 8th and has been healing well after surgery. He is expected to return to action in Week 2 against New Mexico.
• Notre Dame Junior WR Michael Young also broke his collarbone, just over a week after teammate Cole Kmet suffered his. Young also had surgery to repair his collarbone and is rehabbing. The timetable for his return is more unclear, but he can be expected back in action for the Irish by Week 6 against USC at the latest. You can find more info about both Young and Kmet’s injuries here.
• Louisville Junior LB P.J. Blue tore his ACL in practice this past week.

Key Offensive Player for Louisville: Jawon Pass, QB

Junior quarterback Jawon Pass will be the key to Louisville staying in this ballgame. The former 4-star recruit according to 247sports, Pass was heavily recruited by some of the best programs in college football, including Alabama, Clemson and Auburn.

Pass committed to Louisville when it was still a very good program during the Lamar Jackson era, but things have changed in a hurry. He was just named the starting quarterback last week for the Cardinals, beating out Malik Cunningham for the job. He is a dual-threat like Lamar Jackson, but it remains to be seen if he can make magic happen on the field as Jackson did. Last season, Pass went 162 of 300 for 1,960 yards and eight touchdowns through the air. On the ground, Pass ran 76 times for 93 yards and two scores. Louisville has enough playmakers to be dangerous. The question will be if Pass can find them often enough to make an impact against a stingy, veteran Notre Dame defense.

Key Offensive Player for Notre Dame: Lawrence Keys III, WR

When you’re thrust into the starting line-up after a set of ‘key’ — pun intended — injuries, your play and impact becomes very important. That is what sophomore receiver Lawrence Keys is tasked with Monday vs. Louisville. After redshirting last season, this will be Keys’ first action for the Irish in a live game.

He has impressed in camp, but there are jitters for any player making their first collegiate start, no matter the name or level of play. Keys will start in Chris Finke’s usual slot-position, while Finke bounces to the outside to cover for Michael Young as he nurses his injury. Louisville’s defense is not the strongest to say the least. Keys will be needed down the stretch for the Irish, so this game is a great opportunity for the young speedster to get his ‘feet wet’ and log some important minutes.

Key Defensive Player for Louisville: Tabarius Peterson, LB

Last season, it was hard to hide just how terrible Louisville’s defense was. In 2018, Louisville’s opponents averaged over 44 points per game, 277 yards per game on the ground and 206 through the air. That is ridiculous. One man who was impressive on that terrible 2018 defense, however, was junior Tabarius Peterson. Last season in nine games starting at defensive end, Peterson finished sixth on the team with 49 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss.

Peterson is a very impressive athlete who has the ability to play multiple positions and it appears as if he will line up at outside linebacker against the Irish. He can and will move around and play different linebacker positions as well as jump back down onto the defensive line, so Notre Dame will have to keep a special eye on him.

The Irish return a strong offensive line this season, but if there is one player who is going to cause problems for them, it is going to be Tabarius Peterson.

Key Defensive Player for Notre Dame: Shaun Crawford, CB

To say Shaun Crawford has had an injury-riddled Notre Dame career would be an understatement. He is one of the more talented players in the Notre Dame secondary, but has not had the chance to prove it, as he has not been able to stay on the field. Crawford is in line to start in his first collegiate game in well over a year after he tore his ACL — just days before kickoff last season.

Crawford missed the entire 2015 season after tearing the ACL in his right knee during camp. He bounced back to full health, only to suffer a torn Achilles tendon in the second game of 2016.

His health is of utmost importance for Notre Dame. If he can stay on the field for a full season, he adds very valuable talent and potential depth in the secondary. There was never any doubt that Troy Pride Jr. would start at one corner position, but the other one was in question until just a few weeks ago. It appears as if the Irish will line-up with Pride and Crawford to start the season and see how it pans out from there.