Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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20 SEPT. 16, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI T o 10th-year Notre Dame head c o a c h B r i a n K e l l y, N o t re Dame's 35-17 victory at Lou- isville on Labor Day in front of a Cardinal Stadium record crowd of 58,187 served as a form of mini- preparation for the much-anticipated showdown at No. 3 Georgia Sept. 21. The Fighting Irish faced an ener- gized Louisville team under a new coaching regime, and the surprised audience provided a raucous ele- ment when the Cardinals took a 14-7 lead in the first quarter with consecu- tive touchdown marches of 88 and 75 yards that had the Notre Dame defense reeling. Once settled in and adjusted, the No. 9-ranked Irish tallied the next 21 points and outscored Louisville 28-3 over the final 49:08. It wasn't the dominant performance overall that 19-point favorite Notre Dame was aspiring toward, but it had some potential long-term rewards. "Going through the routine of go- ing on the road, playing on the road, and playing in a hostile environment, those things help a football team when they do it again," Kelly said. "There are a lot of distractions to an 18- to-21-year-old when he comes into a stadium, and there's noise and the lights and the fireworks going off 45 minutes before. … The ability to go through that and eliminate the distractions is extremely beneficial the next time they go on the road. "There are a litany of things that we can get better at. We still won the game, and we have some good things to take away." Senior quarterback Ian Book ac- counted for 274 yards of total offense (193 passing and a career-high 81 rushing), while senior running back Tony Jones Jr. paced the rushing attack with 110 yards on 15 carries, and soph- omore Jahmir Smith tallied on two short scoring runs. Receiving the game ball was another sophomore, tight end Tommy Tremble, who caught three passes for 49 yards and a touchdown. Senior safety Alohi Gilman paced the defense with 10 tackles (six solo), while junior rover Jeremiah Owusu- Koramoah had nine stops (six solo) and two tackles for loss. FIRST QUARTER: 14-14 Top Moment: After falling behind 14-7, Notre Dame drove 75 yards and knotted the score on an 11-yard sweep and cutback by Jones. The senior running back also had a 35- yard run on third-and-13 during the series. Standout Performer: Both teams ran extremely well, averaging 10 yards per carry between them. Following Notre Dame's opening march for a touchdown, Louisville redshirt junior quarterback Jawon Pass had three carries for 32 yards, the last for eight yards and a touch- down to culminate an 88-yard drive. The second run picked up 13 yards on third-and-seven. On the ensuing Cardinals se- ries covering 75 yards, Pass scored again on a 17-yard draw with 4:08 left to give Louisville a 14-7 advan- tage. Cardinals running back Javian Hawkins also had eight carries for 71 yards during the quarter, highlighted by a 44-yard scamper off the option. On Notre Dame's side, Jones fin- ished with 87 yards and a score on seven carries. Stats: Notre Dame's 13 carries net- ted 138 yards (10.6 yards per rush), while Book was only 2-of-5 passing for 21 yards. The 18 offensive plays netted 159 yards. Louisville had 13 carries for 122 yards (9.4 yards per attempt), while Pass was 3 of 7 for 33 yards through the air. The 20 plays totaled 155 yards. Items: Notre Dame won the coin flip, elected to receive and promptly drove 75 yards in only six plays and 2:21 … The first play was intended to be a pass, but Book found a wide- open lane in the middle of the field and romped for a career-high 37-yard run … The drive culminated with a three-yard touchdown smash through the middle by Smith, the first score of his career… Louisville converted all three of its third-down attempts … On a 16-yard catch, starting Irish junior running back Jafar Armstrong suffered a groin/mid-line injury and was sidelined the rest of the game. SECOND QUARTER: NOTRE DAME 21-14 Top Moment: With the score still 14-14, three consecutive fumbles by both quarterbacks, two by Pass and one by Book in between, turned into Notre Dame's advantage when sopho- more linebacker Jack Lamb recovered Pass' second fumble off a bobbled snap and gave the Irish possession at the Cardinals' 20-yard line with 1:03 left. Four plays later on third-and-goal from the 11, Book pump-faked to his right and ran a quarterback draw to his left for the touchdown with 17 seconds remaining. Standout Performer: Both defenses were much more effective in the sec- ond quarter. Notre Dame's 21 plays in the quarter totaled 87 yards (45 rushing and 42 passing). Louisville's 16 plays resulted in only 53 yards (39 rushing and 14 passing). Stats: Louisville was 0 of 4 on third downs in this quarter after going 3 of 3 in the first. Notre Dame was 1 of 4 on third downs in this quarter, and also missed on fourth-and-short — but the lone conversion on third- and-goal resulted in Book's 11-yard go-ahead touchdown. Items: With the score 14-14, Notre Dame's fourth-and-four attempt from the Louisville 39-yard resulted in a completion to fifth-year senior wideout Chris Finke that was short of the first down with 10:23 remain- ing … One series later with the score still tied, a third-and-one run by Smith from his 24-yard line came up short, forcing a punt … Junior line- backer Drew White recorded a sack WARM-UP TEST Notre Dame rallies from early 14-7 deficit to defeat spirited Louisville 35-17 in the season opener Fifth-year senior cornerback Shaun Crawford and the Irish surrendered 163 yards and 14 points to Louisville on its first two possessions, but held the Cardinals to just 220 yards and three points over the final 49 minutes en route to the victory. PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER