Watch: Notre Dame, Louisville trade costly turnovers in first quarter

Saturday's late-afternoon slate of college football games featured a juicy ranked matchup between No. 15 Louisville and No. 16 Notre Dame.

But from the opening minutes, both teams didn't look like top 25 teams (at least the offenses didn't).

Notre Dame fumbled the opening kickoff, handing the ball to Louisville in prime field position just seconds into regulation.

Three plays later, Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough threw a 10-yard pass to wide receiver Isaac Brown for the early 7-0 lead.

After the Irish tied the game at 7-7, Louisville appeared to have broken off a major play to start its drive midway through the quarter. Shough got loose for what was going to be a 46-yard gain until a Notre Dame defender punched the ball out and shifted the momentum of the game completely.

The Irish capitalized four plays later when Irish quarterback Riley Leonard tossed a 34-yard pass for the go-ahead touchdown, taking a 14-7 lead.

Oh, but the opening quarter craziness didn't end there. Notre Dame's special teams came through clutch on a Louisville punt, recovering a wild snap that flew over the punter and setting the Irish up for another touchdown extending the lead to 21-7.

The two programs are only conference foes in basketball, both members of the ACC, but Saturday's game has all the makings of a rivalry game.

Notre Dame is looking to avenge a 33-21 loss last season to the Cardinals, one that practically eliminated it from College Football Playoff contention. A similar result could do the same to the Irish's prospects in 2024.