Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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40 SEPT. 28, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: LOUISVILLE are deep, with two graduate transfers (including the immaculately named Thor Griffith, from Harvard) getting edged out by returners but still maintaining rotational roles. On the Notre Dame side, it will be interesting to see how the new-look offensive line settles in with a full game together. Junior center Ashton Craig (knee) is out for the season, and junior right guard Billy Schrauth (ankle) is expected to miss the Louisville game. Senior Pat Coogan and graduate student Rocco Spindler will take their places, and they played well against Purdue, but Louisville is a different animal. What separates the Irish, though, is the three in- dividuals carrying the football. Sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love is one of the best athletes in college football, and he's enjoying a breakout sea- son. Junior running back Jadarian Price is a threat to hit a home run every time, and senior quarterback Riley Leonard adds another layer of elite rushing. They have averaged 8.0, 7.7 and 6.5 (adjusted for sacks) yards per carry, respectively. Together, Notre Dame has averaged 4.6 yards after contact per carry so far this season, per Sports Info Solutions. That's the third-highest mark in the nation, behind only Bowling Green and Cincinnati. The Irish have also rushed for 9 gains of 20 yards or more, which is tied for fourth. Six of them found the end zone, out of 10 rushing touchdowns total. This is the first time this year where for one of these matchups, we can say, "Both teams are re- ally good at this." But a slight edge goes to the side that's proven more in 2024. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. LOUISVILLE PASS DEFENSE Nothing slight here. Notre Dame's passing game is still, from an optimistic viewpoint, developing. Leon- ard entered Week 4 averaging 5.6 yards per attempt with no touchdowns and 2 interceptions, although his pressure-to-sack ratio of 10 percent ranks 20th among 93 qualified signal-callers. This is significant, because with an offensive line that is, again, developing, Leonard has been pres- sured on 33 percent of his drop-backs (28th out of 55 who have been pressured enough to qualify). He will be pressured more than usual against Louisville, which had 9 sacks in 2 games. The scary part is that it's not just Gillotte. Redshirt freshman defensive end Adonijah Green ties him so far this season with 5 quarterback pressures, and not far behind is redshirt senior defensive end Tra- mel Logan (4, and 3 of those became sacks). Gillotte is still the star, though, finishing sixth in the nation with 42 pressures and eighth with 11 sacks in 2023. In the secondary, Louisville wasn't quite as good against the pass as its 3-interception game against Sam Hartman and the Irish would indicate last year. The Cardinals allowed 7.3 yards per attempt; that number is down to 4.5 this year but, one more time, Austin Peay and Jacksonville State. The star on the back end is redshirt senior corner- back Quincy Riley, who has 14 career interceptions and allowed passer ratings of 23.4 and 37.2 in 2022 and 2023, respectively. For reference, an incomplete pass carries a rating of 39.6. The lesson here: Riley has to stay away from Riley. The rest of the Louisville secondary, however, is not invincible. If the Irish can hold up in protection, Leonard could show much-needed improvement. "We're going to have to be — and nobody under- stands this better than Riley does — we're going to have to be more consistent with the way we throw the ball, moving forward, to be the type of offensive unit we need to be," Notre Dame offensive coordi- nator Mike Denbrock said Sept. 17. Still, the Cardinals clearly have the edge here. Advantage: Louisville SPECIAL TEAMS Louisville senior kicker Brock Travelstead has had an up-and-down first two games, going 2 of 4 on field goals including a miss from 28. Notre Dame graduate student Mitch Jeter has matched his career total with 2 missed field goals through three games this season, but both were blocked. One was a 62-yarder that was always going to be blocked. The Irish should have confidence in their kicker, as long as they can keep rushers away from him. The same cannot be said for their punter, gradu- ate student James Rendell, who ranks 68th out of 71 qualified players in punting average at 39.1 yards per boot. No one on Louisville has punted enough to qualify, but redshirt freshman Carter Schwartz and senior Brady Hodges haven't been much better at 40.3 and 39.5, respectively. The difference here is the presence of Notre Dame graduate student kickoff returner Jayden Harrison. He's a threat to break off a big one at any moment, and he nearly salvaged the loss to NIU in Week 2 by bringing a squib kick out to the 37-yard line and giving the Irish offense a chance that it obviously squandered. Advantage: Notre Dame Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR 0 Chris Bell 6-2 220 Jr. 7 Jimmy Calloway 6-0 190 R-Jr. WR 1 Ja'Corey Brooks 6-3 195 R-Sr. 86 Antonio Meeks 6-1 195 Jr. LT 71 Monroe Mills 6-7 315 R-Sr. 70 Trevonte Sylvester 6-6 280 R-Jr. LG 68 Michael Gonzalez 6-4 305 Sr. 73 Madden Sanker 6-5 310 R-Fr. C 50 Pete Nygra 6-4 300 R-Jr. 59 Victor Cutler 6-3 300 R-Sr. RG 56 Renato Brown 6-4 315 R-Sr. or 51 Austin Collins 6-3 295 R-Jr. RT 76 Jon Mendoza 6-9 310 R-Sr. 60 Rasheed Miller 6-7 310 R-Sr. TE 83 Mark Redman 6-5 255 R-Sr. 11 Jamari Johnson 6-5 265 R-Fr. or 85 Nate Kurisky 6-3 240 R-So. WR 2 Jadon Thompson 6-2 190 Sr. 81 Cataurus Hicks 5-10 180 R-Fr. QB 9 Tyler Shough 6-5 225 R-Sr. 10 Pierce Clarkson 6-1 195 R-Fr. or 15 Harrison Bailey 6-5 230 R-Sr. or 12 Brady Allen 6-6- 220 R-So. or 13 Deuce Adams 6-1 170 Fr. RB 4 Maurice Turner 5-10 190 Jr. 21 Donald Chaney 5-11 220 R-Jr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DE 9 Ashton Gillotte 6-3 275 Sr. 41 Ramon Puryear 6-3 275 R-Sr. NT 99 Dez Tell 6-1 295 Sr. 90 Rene Konga 6-4 290 R-Sr. DT 93 Jared Dawson 6-2 305 R-Jr. 50 Thor Griffith 6-2 320 R-Sr. DE 19 Tramel Logan 6-4 250 R-Sr. 33 Myles Jernigan 6-2 235 R-Sr. LB 35 Antonio Watts 6-2 225 Jr. or 10 Ben Perry 6-3 205 R-Jr. LB 6 Stanquan Clark 6-3 230 So. 15 Dan Foster 6-3 230 R-Sr. LB 34 T.J. Quinn 6-1 230 R-Jr. 32 Jurriente Davis 6-0 230 R-Sr. CB 14 Corey Thornton 6-1 195 Sr. or 23 Tahveon Nicholson 5-11 185 R-Sr. CB 3 Quincy Riley 6-0 195 R-Sr. 20 Tayon Holloway 6-1 190 R-So. FS 12 Tamarion McDonald 6-2 195 Sr. or 27 Devin Neal 6-0 210 Sr. SS 26 M.J. Griffin 6-1 200 R-Sr. 21 D'Angelo Hutchinson 6-3 195 Jr. LOUISVILLE CARDINALS DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. K 38 Brock Travelstead 6-1 205 Sr. 98 Nick Keller 6-1 200 R-So. P 93 Brady Hodges 6-1 200 Sr. 39 Carter Schwartz 6-4 230 R-Fr. H 93 Brady Hodges 6-1 200 Sr. 39 Carter Schwartz 6-4 230 R-Fr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LS 48 Shai Kochav 6-3 240 R-Jr. 46 Brady McEnaney 6-2 225 Fr. KR 4 Maurice Turner 5-10 190 Jr. 25 Isaac Brown 5-9 190 Fr. PR 3 Quincy Riley 6-0 195 R-Sr. 2 Jadon Thompson 6-2 190 Sr. Special Teams