Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 OCT. 14, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT In what may end up as the most disappointing play of the season, Notre Dame trailed Louisville 17-13 early in the fourth quarter and appeared to force a punt after making a stop on a Cardinals' third-and-15 play that ended in only a 6-yard gain. Everything changed when on the play graduate student linebacker Marist Liufau was called for a personal foul facemask penalty, well away from the ball, that awarded Louisville a first down at the Irish 35-yard line. Instead of a Cardinals' punt and a change of possession, Notre Dame's defense remained on the field. Four plays later, Louisville redshirt junior tailback Jawhar Johnson took a handoff and went 21 yards nearly untouched for a touchdown that put the Cardinals up 24-13, a lead the Irish could not overcome. On the ensuing possession, Notre Dame failed on a debatable fourth-and-11 attempt and turned the ball over on downs at its own 35-yard line. Louisville responded with a 45-yard field goal that pushed its lead to 27-13, and essentially put the game on ice. STATS OF THE GAME The pressure Louisville put on graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman is where this segment needs to begin. The Cardinals' defense sacked Hart- man 5 times for negative-37 yards and collected 3 interceptions that led to 10 points and/or changed field position at critical times in a close game. Louisville won the overall turnover battle 5-1, af- ter Notre Dame entered the game with only 2 total turnovers this season — tied for the third fewest in the country. Additionally, the Cardinals won the rushing yard- age battle 185-44. Notre Dame averaged only 1.6 yards per rushing attempt and finished 148 yards below its season average of 192.2 ground yards a game. The loss snapped Notre Dame's 30-game regular- season winning streak — including 15 straight on the road —against ACC opponents. The Irish managed to convert only 3 of 13 (23.1 percent) third downs, another important deficiency against the Cardinals after Notre Dame entered the game ranked 28th nationally with a 46.8 percent conversion rate. HARTMAN SLIPPAGE Hartman looked invincible through the first four games this season, when he threw for 13 touchdowns and no interceptions while elevat- ing himself to a No. 3 national ranking in passer efficiency rating. The Notre Dame savior has since looked pe- destrian. In his last three games — a loss to Ohio State, a win over Duke and a loss to Louisville — Hart- man threw for 3 touchdowns and 3 intercep- tions, with all of his picks coming against the Cardinals. Even after the 17-14 loss to Ohio State Sept. 23, Hartman was still being mentioned in some Heisman Trophy conversations. But consecutive tough outings against Duke (15-of-30 passing with 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions) and Louisville (22-of-38 passing with 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions) dropped Hartman's rating well out of the top 10 in the all-important passer ef- ficiency category. And with two losses in three games, Hartman's recent performances also dashed any Heisman hopes. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY TODD D. BURLAGE LINEBACKER JD BERTRAND The graduate student provided a bit of a bright spot on a defense that struggled for most of the 33-20 loss to Louisville. Statistically, Bertrand tied for the team lead with 9 tackles, including 1.5 for loss and 1 sack. But beyond the stats, the Irish team captain was a constant disruption in both the Irish run-stoppage and pass-rush defense, making plays all over the field. Bertrand finished the Louisville game as Notre Dame's sec- ond-leading tackler this season with 41 stops. With 11 tackles against Duke in Notre Dame's previous game, Bertrand has made 20 stops the last two games. WIDE RECEIVER JORDAN FAISON The true freshman enjoyed his coming-out party with 2 re- ceptions for 48 yards. Arriving to campus this summer out of Gulliver Pine Crest Prep in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Faison came to Notre Dame to play lacrosse next spring with the intention of moonlighting as a football wide receiver. With Notre Dame trailing 7-0 in the second quarter, Faison recorded his first career catch on a third-and-8 with a clutch 12-yard grab to keep the drive alive. Two plays later, Faison recorded his first career touchdown on a 36-yard scoring toss from graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman that tied the game at 7-7. PLACEKICKER SPENCER SHRADER The graduate student placekicker held up his end of the bar- gain in the loss to Louisville with a perfect night that included 2 successful long field goals and 2 extra point attempts. Shrader tied his career long with a 54-yard field goal late in the third quarter, which matched the longest-ever successful kick in program history, a mark he previously set against North Carolina State Sept. 9. That field goal brought the Irish within 17-13. Shrader also had a 53-yard field goal in the third quarter that gave the Irish a 10-7 lead they couldn't hold onto. GAME BALLS BY TODD D. BURLAGE Graduate student linebacker JD Bertrand compiled a team-high 9 stops, plus had 1.5 tackles for loss and 1 sack. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER