Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/416910
GAME PREVIEW: LOUISVILLE is definitely a changed person." Petrino said he can understand why there would be skeptics about his com‑ mitment to Louisville because of his checkered past, but he said he will let his actions speak for themselves. "The thing you do is just show it," he said. "I have a sign in the locker room that says it's a 'show‑me' world. "I made mistakes, both profession‑ ally and personally. That's something I'm not going to do again. … My first mistake was leaving here." STAR POWER Bobby Petrino provides star power to the Cardinals on the coaching front while succeeding Charlie Strong. From 2010‑13, Strong was 37‑15 at Louisville — the exact same record of Brian Kelly at Notre Dame — and left a strong infrastructure. That included an 11‑2 finish in 2012, highlighted by an upset of a top‑five Florida team in Predictions Douglas Farmer: Louisville 27, Notre Dame 20 No defense has managed to stop Notre Dame's offense, unless the Irish have tripped themselves up first. At this point, the Irish cannot afford to stumble again, but if anybody can stop them on their own it is Louisville's top‑10 defense. One of the country's best rush defenses is overshadowed by an opportunistic secondary that has picked off 22 passes. That makes for a dangerous scenario for Notre Dame senior quarterback Everett Golson and his turnover woes. Tom Loy: Notre Dame 34 Louisville 20 With Louisville signal‑caller Will Gardner out for the season, freshman dual‑threat Reggie Bonnafon gets the nod going forward. He's athletic and a threat to run, but he's not ready for big‑time football yet. He will make a big play or two, but he doesn't read coverages well and turnovers will occur. If the Irish defense can capitalize on them and limit the production of wideout DeVante Parker, Notre Dame could win this one by two scores. Andrew Owens: Notre Dame 28, Louisville 27 Louisville is easily the most underrated team on Notre Dame's schedule this season. All the November schedule talk centered on Arizona State and USC, but the Cardinals are just as capable of knocking off the Irish. Losing quarterback Will Gardner hurts, but freshman backup Reggie Bonnafon gained valuable experience earlier this season. The Cardinals have no shortage of playmakers and will come close to beating the Irish on senior day. Lou Somogyi: Notre Dame 31, Louisville 26 This has the earmarks of an upset special, similar to North Carolina, except the Cardinals are better on defense and have more game‑breakers on offense. First‑year head coach Bobby Petrino hasn't had his initial marquee win with the Cardinals, losing at Clemson (23‑17) and falling late to Florida State (42‑31) after roaring to a 21‑0 lead. With two weeks to prepare for the Irish, expect Louisville to give Notre Dame everything it can handle, and then some.