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Notre Dame vs Louisville Prediction, Game Preview, and Betting Lines
By Pete Fiutak,
1 days ago
Notre Dame might have lost to Northern Illinois a few weeks ago, but it was able to right the ship with emphatic wins over Purdue and Miami University.
There might be several tests coming up, but Louisville might be the toughest game before dealing with USC in the regular season finale.
The Cardinals caught the Irish last year in a 33-20 win, and they’re playing well with a strong victory over Georgia Tech coming off of dominant performances against Austin Peay and Jacksonville State.
Win this, and all of a sudden the national spotlight will be on as a true player in the ACC race that kicks in full force next week against SMU.
Sep 21, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Junior Tuihalamaka (44) celebrates after an interception in the first quarter against the Miami Redhawks at Notre Dame Stadium.
It’s sort of crazy, but the Notre Dame quarterback has top 15 overall draft pick talent and measurables, but there’s one key issue … he’s not really throwing it all that well.
Leonard is hitting 63% of his passes, but he has yet to hit 170 yards in any game and the touchdown pass he threw against Miami University was his first.
It won’t get any easier against a Louisville defensive front that was great at getting into the backfield last year and is crushing it this year with nine sacks in the first three games.
On the flip side, in three games Tyler Shough has been the perfect fit for Louisville. He’s averaging over 11 yards per throw, he has yet to two a pick, and he’s the one looking and playing like the first round draft pick he has the talent to be. However …
Why Notre Dame Will Win
Leonard might not be winging it around like Patrick Mahomes, but he’s running like Jayden Daniels.
He tore off 100 yards and three touchdowns against Purdue, and followed it up with 143 yards and two scores against Miami University. The key to all of this? He’s averaging just over 11 carries per game.
It really is this simple for Notre Dame. When the offensive line is pounding away, everything else is working.
The Irish are 3-0 this season when running 34 times or more. How many times did it run in the loss to Northern Illinois? 28.
How many times did it run in the loss to Louisville? 28, and that’s partly because the ground game didn’t work, and partly because the Cardinal defensive front was swarming.
The Irish have to commit to the bit. Let Leonard take off, keep feeding the back, rely on the defense to hold up, and …
Notre Dame vs Louisville: Who Will Win
103.
That’s how many times so far this year teams ran on the Cardinals with no one coming up with fewer than 32 carries.
This is the game Notre Dame appears to have circled. It appears to be one of those teams that needs that type of challenge-us-please thing happening. Be sort of stunned if this isn’t the most physical the Irish have been all year, especially on the defensive front.
Notre Dame vs Louisville Prediction, Betting Lines
Notre Dame 26, Louisville 17 Line: Notre Dame -7, o/u: 45.5 ATS Confidence out of 5: 2 Notre Dame vs Louisville Must See Rating: 4
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