Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1527190
24 OCT. 12, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT With the game tied 7-7 midway through the first quarter, and all early indications suggesting that Notre Dame would be in a dogfight with Louisville, the turning point for the Irish in this game came on a what started as a big play for the Cardinals. On a first-and-10 from his own 7-yard line, Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough broke loose on a keeper, and rushed over the right side for a 46-yard gain that would've flipped the field, and momentum, had the play held up. Instead, Irish freshman cornerback Leonard Moore stripped the football from Shough at the end of the run. Sophomore linebacker Jaiden Ausberry recovered the fumble near midfield, and four plays later Notre Dame was the in end zone for a 14-7 lead. The Irish held onto to that lead for the reminder of the game. STATS OF THE GAME Turnovers and points off of those takeaways dominate this category. Both Louisville and Notre Dame were sloppy with the football, especially in the first half, when the two teams combined for 5 giveaways. The Cardinals turned the ball over three times (1 interception, 2 lost fumbles), which Notre Dame parlayed into 17 points. The Irish had 2 giveaways on lost fumbles that the Cardinals turned into 14 points. Louisville, which did not turn the ball over once in its first three contests, entered the game tied for ninth in the country with a +1.33 turnover- margin ratio. The Cardinals actually won the total yardage battle over the Irish, 395-280. But these three momentum-sapping turnovers by Louisville in the first half put and kept the Irish out in front. TIMELY STOPS Fourth-down stops remained a trademark of the Irish defense against Louisville, and fortu- nately so. Notre Dame held the Cardinals to only 1 of 5 on their fourth-down attempts, with two of those stops resulting in two of the biggest plays of the game. With Louisville facing a fourth-and-1 on the Irish 15-yard line — with 34 seconds remaining in the first half and Notre Dame leading 24-14 — the Cardinals decided against a field goal at- tempt, went for it, and were stuffed for no gain and came away with 0 points. More memorable, with Louisville trailing 31-24 and facing a make-or-break play with 53 seconds left in the game, on a fourth-and-6 at its own 49-yard line, Notre Dame graduate student de- fensive backs Jordan Clark and Xavier Watts broke up a deep downfield to seal the win. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY TODD D. BURLAGE WR JADEN GREATHOUSE The Irish sophomore finished the Louisville game with 4 catches for 61 yards and 1 touchdown. Not exactly eye-popping numbers, but his 4 grabs were his second most this season, his yardage total was a sea- son high and his touchdown grab was his first in 2024. The most memorable play for Greathouse came late in the first quarter on his 34-yard touchdown catch that turned a 7-7 tie into a 14-7 Notre Dame lead. Through five games, Greathouse ranked second on the Irish with 13 catches and 140 yards, and he's one of only two Notre Dame wide receivers with a touch- down catch this season. QB RILEY LEONARD The Irish senior stayed on the same script against Louisville that he has all season, posting most his sta- tistical success on the ground, while doing just enough in the passing game to lift Notre Dame to the win. Leonard finished with a team-high 52 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. He added 163 yards on 17-of-23 passing with 2 touchdowns. His rushing touchdown was his seventh this season, after he entered the game leading all Power Four quarterbacks with 6 rushing scores. This also marked the first time since November 2022 (13 games) — when Leonard played for Duke — that he threw multiple touchdown passes in a game. CB LEONARD MOORE Injuries in the Irish secondary against Louisville pro- vided this true freshman reserve a chance at the first extended action of his career, and he came up big. Moore finished with a team-high 7 tackles (6 solo) and added a forced fumble in the first quarter to set up a Notre Dame touchdown drive that gave the Irish a lead (14-7), which they never relinquished. With only 5 tackles in limited action through the first four games this season, Moore enjoyed the best game of his young career, and proved he could be a depend- able backup for the Irish moving forward. GAME BALLS BY TODD D. BURLAGE Sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse (right) reeled in his first touchdown reception of the season and the fifth of his young career. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER