Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 7, 2023 41 GAME PREVIEW: LOUISVILLE those attempts were from 50 yards or more, but still, the Irish brought him in because of his big leg, and that big leg is of no use if he's not kicking accurately. Notre Dame certainly has a weapon in another big leg on the roster, though, and that belongs to sophomore punter Bryce McFerson. He averaged 48.3 punts on his first 12 boots. If he had enough kicks to qualify among national leaders, he'd be ranked tied for fourth in the country in punting average. In games in which punts are prevalent, a number like that could come in handy. Notre Dame ranked tied for 74th in kick return averaged through Week 4 while Louisville ranked 85th. The Cards were 121st in punt return average, and Notre Dame was 67th. Any game can come down to special teams, but this isn't a matchup of world-beating special teams units. That said, Notre Dame's is still superior. Advantage: Notre Dame COACHING The benefit of the doubt evades a coaching staff the moment it lets its defense run two plays in the final 10 seconds of a one-possession game with 10 men on the field. It was just an inexcusable gaffe that's going to be talked about for a long, long time by those asso- ciated with Notre Dame football. That last-second loss to Ohio State will live in infamy for Marcus Free- man unless he's the first coach in decades to bring a national championship to South Bend. That just is what it is. Louisville's Jeff Brohm, meanwhile, doesn't have nearly as much pressure on him at his alma mater. He's never going to feel the pressure of coaching in a game with the weight of No. 6 Ohio State at No. 9 Notre Dame. Not at Louisville, anyway. T h a t d o e s n ' t m a ke him a better coach than Freeman, but there is something to be said for his experience. Brohm busted his chops with a very high degree of rela- tive success at Western Kentucky, where he had a 30-10 record from 2014- 16. He went 36-34 at Pur- due, a historically tough Big Ten program at which to win. After a 4-0 start at Louisville, where he was the starting quarterback in the early 1990s, Brohm has that benefit of the doubt Freeman must earn back. Advantage: Louisville INTANGIBLES This is the third straight night game for Notre Dame, which is something that's only happened three other times in program history. When Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was alerted to the news of a night game versus Louisville, he rolled his eyes in displeasure Sept. 25. Playing so many night games, especially back-to-back on the road, is a difficult ask of any team. The Cardinals went 2-1 against ranked opponents in 2022, but that was with head coach Scott Satter- field. In six seasons at Purdue, Jeff Brohm went 7-11 against ranked opponents. That included knocking off No. 2 Ohio State in a night game in West Lafayette, Ind., in 2018. Brohm knows how to get an underdog up for a big game. That's what this is for Louisville — a big game. The Cardinals could be on their way to notching the most victories they've had in a season since 2016 when they had nine with Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson leading the offense. It's games like these the Cards have to win to get there. All that said, Notre Dame has just been so good against ACC opponents, even on the road, over the last handful of seasons. The Irish don't get fazed by other teams' Super Bowl; that's what this is, Louisville's Super Bowl. That might be too much for the Cards to live up to in Brohm's first season back at his alma mater. Advantage: Notre Dame OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR 83 Jayden Thomas 6-1½ 221 Jr. 0 Deion Colzie 6-4¼ 210 Jr. WR 4 Chris Tyree 5-9½ 192 Sr. 19 Jaden Greathouse 6-1 204 Fr. LT 76 Joe Alt 6-8 322 Jr. 79 Tosh Baker 6-8 317 Sr. LG 78 Pat Coogan 6-5⅛ 303 Jr. 74 Billy Schrauth 6-4½ 311 So. C 52 Zeke Correll 6-3 306 Gr. 70 Ashton Craig 6-4¼ 307 So. RG 50 Rocco Spindler 6-4⅝ 314 Jr. 73 Andrew Kristofic 6-5¼ 305 Gr. RT 54 Blake Fisher 6-6 312 Jr. 59 Aamil Wagner 6-6 288 So. TE 88 Mitchell Evans 6-5⅛ 251 Jr. 13 Holden Staes 6-4¼ 242 So. 38 Davis Sherwood 6-3 238 Jr. WR 5 Tobias Merriweather 6-4 204 So. 17 Rico Flores Jr. 6-0⅛ 205 Fr. QB 10 Sam Hartman 6-1⅛ 212 Gr. 18 Steve Angeli 6-2⅜ 211 So. RB 7 Audric Estimé 5-11½ 227 Jr. 3 Gi'Bran Payne 5-9⅛ 208 So. or 24 Jadarian Price 5-10⅜ 206 So. or 22 Devyn Ford 5-11 200 Gr. or 12 Jeremiyah Love 5-11⅞ 197 Fr. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Vyper 12 Jordan Botelho 6-2½ 264 Sr. 44 Junior Tuihalamaka 6-1⅞ 254 So. DT 99 Rylie Mills 6-5⅛ 306 Sr. 47 Jason Onye 6-5 294 Jr. NT 56 Howard Cross III 6-0⅞ 288 Gr. 92 Aidan Keanaaina 6-3 309 Sr. or 41 Donovan Hinish 6-1⅝ 280 So. SDE 1 Javontae Jean-Baptiste 6-4½ 260 Gr. or 31 Nana Osafo-Mensah 6-3⅛ 264 Sr. 40 Joshua Burnham 6-3½ 248 So. Will 8 Marist Liufau 6-2¼ 239 Gr. 23 Jaiden Ausberry 6-0⅛ 224 Fr. Mike 27 JD Bertrand 6-1 233 Gr. 34 Drayk Bowen 6-2 234 Fr. Rover 24 Jack Kiser 6-1⅝ 232 Gr. 3 Jaylen Sneed 6-2 223 So. CB 5 Cam Hart 6-2½ 207 Gr. 7 Jaden Mickey 5-11½ 181 So. LS 2 DJ Brown 6-1¼ 202 Gr. or 9 Antonio Carter II 5-11¾ 207 Gr. or 13 Thomas Harper 5-10⅝ 195 Gr. RS 0 Xavier Watts 5-11¾ 204 Sr. or 11 Ramon Henderson 6-1 196 Sr. CB 20 Benjamin Morrison 6-0¼ 185 So. 29 Christian Gray 5-11¾ 189 Fr. or 6 Clarence Lewis 5-11½ 202 Sr. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Depth Chart Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. KO 32 Spencer Shrader 6-1⅜ 200 Gr. 92 Zac Yoakam 5-8 188 So. K 32 Spencer Shrader 6-1⅜ 200 Gr. 92 Zac Yoakam 5-8 188 So. P 14 Bryce McFerson 6-1½ 197 So. 43 Ben Krimm 6-1⅛ 204 Gr. LS 65 Michael Vinson 6-2 242 Gr. 51 Rino Monteforte 5-7 195 So. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. H 16 Dylan Devezin 6-1⅛ 222 So. 14 Bryce McFerson 6-1½ 197 So. PR 4 Chris Tyree 5-9½ 192 Sr. 7 Jaden Mickey 5-11½ 181 So. KR 24 Jadarian Price 5-10⅜ 206 So. 12 Jeremiyah Love 5-11⅞ 197 Fr. SPECIAL TEAMS