20 OCT. 12, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED
BY TYLER HORKA AND JACK SOBLE
N
otre Dame Stadium fell so si-
lent you could hear an individ-
ual rain drop hit the steel of a
stadium bleacher seat, if there
was any unoccupied one. Spoiler —
there wasn't. Not for this game. Not for
No. 15 Louisville at No. 16 Notre Dame,
a matchup that quickly became the big-
gest of the 2024 season for the Fighting
Irish.
They didn't seem to treat it as such in
the first 90 seconds.
Veteran special teams enthusiast
Devyn Ford fumbled the opening kick-
off. Three plays later, the Cardinals
were in the end zone for the opening
score. That's when the sold-out crowd
of 77,622 was rendered speechless. A
total no-show couldn't occur again,
could it?
Nope. Not this time.
Notre Dame rebounded in a big way,
scoring the game's next three touch-
downs, and hung on down the stretch
to secure a 31-24 victory. Head coach
Marcus Freeman's ninth career victory
over an opponent ranked in the Associ-
ated Press Top 25 at the time of kickoff
was far from perfect. It was downright
wacky in every phase. But a win is win,
and Freeman and Co. needed this one
any way they could get it.
"Obviously wasn't perfect as every-
body saw, we saw, our players saw," Free-
man said. "When you find a way to get it
STAYING ALIVE
Notre Dame remains in the thick of the
College Football Playoff conversation
with 31-24 win over No. 15 Louisville
