Analyst says Notre Dame football is on upset alert vs Louisville
![Sep 2, 2019; Louisville, KY, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Chase Claypool (83) runs the ball against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half at Cardinal Stadium. Notre Dame defeated Louisville 35-17. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports Sep 2, 2019; Louisville, KY, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Chase Claypool (83) runs the ball against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half at Cardinal Stadium. Notre Dame defeated Louisville 35-17. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/065855df16544eb002efe772d8c59cc3a37dbff8ceffbe2b40c71813e05cbf94.jpg)
There is at least one analyst who believes that Notre Dame football could be toppled by Jack Plummer and the Louisville Cardinals on Saturday night.
Notre Dame football looks like it’s on the cusp of getting on a roll. Yes they lost to Ohio State in the most heartbreaking fashion possible.
However, they came back the next week and showed that they had intestinal fortitude. They rallied against the Duke Bluedevils in the final seconds in order to improve to 5-1 on the season.
Now they roll into Louisville, Kentucky as a heavy favorite despite the ACC school being 5-0 on the year and ranked in the Top 25 for the first time this season. However, analyst Josh Pate believes that the way the season is shaking out, Notre Dame football should actually be on an upset alert.
In one of Pate’s latest episodes of Late Kick, Pate explained that the model he and the people he work with have put together doesn’t believe that Louisville should be the underdog in this matchup.
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In fact, according to Pate, their model actually has the Cardinals as -1, rather than +6.5 when it comes to laying money on one team or another. While Pate didn’t go into great detail explaining just why Notre Dame football should actually be the underdog, it’s not a totally farfetched opinion.
Notre Dame football needs to find focus
While the Fighting Irish are clearly the more talented of the two teams, it is worth pointing out that they looked far from a juggernaut against Riley Leonard and company. In fact, they blew a 10-0 halftime lead and had to lean on a miracle 16-yard fourth-down run by quarterback Sam Hartman in order to win.
Pate also pointed to Jack Plummer, the former Purdue and Cal quarterback who is now leading the Cardinals in his senior season, as a big x-factor. That of course if the Jack Plummer who, thanks to numerous transfers, is 0-2 vs. Notre Dame football in the last two years.
One thing is or sure when looking at this kind of Notre Dame football analysis. There are some out there who haven’t bought in to the Fighting Irish just yet. If they are able to go on the road and deal a 7-point defeat to yet another ACC program, it could go a long way towards showing everyone what Marcus Freeman’s squad is made of in 2023.