Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1300210
20 OCT. 24, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI U pon assessing Notre Dame's 42‑26 victory over Florida State on Oct. 10, head coach Brian Kelly was blunt. "It's not the kind of defense that [coordinator] Clark [Lea] has put out there, not the kind of defense that I want to put out there," he said. The 12‑7 victory over 17‑point un‑ derdog Louisville a week later was much more like it, if a bit too close for comfort. What was anticipated to be a shoot‑ out instead turned into a slugfest, and No. 4‑ranked Notre Dame (4‑0) held on for its 22nd straight win at home. The Cardinals trailed 6‑0 at half‑ time, but received the second‑half kickoff and marched 83 yards to take a 7‑6 advantage. Louisville then ap‑ peared to recover an onside kick, but was called for an illegal block. Notre Dame answered the touch‑ down with a 66‑yard drive in eight plays, culminated by a 13‑yard scramble by fifth‑year senior quar‑ terback Ian Book on third‑and‑eight. With 7:55 remaining in the contest, Notre Dame took possession at its 23‑yard line and proceeded to run out the clock, converting three third‑ and‑long situations. Both teams had only seven posses‑ sions apiece in the contest. "I don't even know if it aestheti‑ cally looked bad," Kelly summarized. "We controlled the line of scrimmage. We controlled the time of possession. I think we had one or two penalties. We didn't turn the football over. "I've coached a lot of games over 30 years. I don't know that I've been in one quite like this. I've been in a DEFENSE POLICY No. 4-ranked Notre Dame scuffled its way to an old-school, 12-7 victory versus Louisville