The phrase “must-win game” can often be overused in sports, but it’s hard to find any other way to describe No. 16 Notre Dame’s home matchup against No. 15 Louisville on Saturday afternoon.
The Irish needed a win to stay in the College Football Playoff hunt, avenge last year's defeat and rebuild their confidence at home after a shocking loss to Northern Illinois in their season opener at Notre Dame Stadium — along with plenty of other reasons.
Whatever the motivation, Notre Dame took the field and got the job done: they won. It wasn’t always pretty, but each unit delivered when it mattered most — whether it was the offense opening the game with their best quarter of the season, special teams forcing a critical turnover or the defense sealing the victory with a game-saving stop in the final minutes. When the dust settled, the scoreboard read Notre Dame 31, Louisville 24, marking the Irish's third straight win and pushing them to 4-1 on the season. On this day, nothing mattered more than getting the result.
“Great win. Obviously wasn't perfect as everybody saw, we saw, our players saw. [But] you find a way to get it done when it matters most,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said postgame. “At the end of the day, we are evaluated [based on whether we] win or no. Did you get it done? We found a way.”
While they eventually indeed did find a way, it only took one play — and six seconds — for the chances of that outcome to appear to be on the ropes. With Notre Dame Stadium packed to the brim for the biggest home game of the season against a top-15 opponent, and fans decked out in all green to match the team’s uniforms for the “Irish Wear Green” game, the energy in the air was palpable as the Irish were set to receive the opening kickoff. But graduate running back Devyn Ford fumbled on the kickoff return and Louisville recovered. Just three plays later, the Cardinals took a 7-0 lead on a touchdown pass from Tyler Shough to Isaac Brown, and all of the excitement and anticipation in the stadium was sucked out just as quickly as it had arrived.
That single play could have had the Irish on their heels for the rest of the game, but having the resilience to shake off moments like that is exactly what Freeman and his coaching staff preach to their team every day.
“You’ve got to reload … You know, your frustration, you want to get mad and scream … but you’ve got to reload and you’ve got to refocus on the next play,” Freeman said about responding to adversity like the early turnover. “That's a message I've always said. No matter what happens the last play, take the emotion out. You don't control probably the first thought, but you control the second thought. You first thought is to be upset and feel sorry for yourself, and the second thought is the most important, and that's to reload and refocus.”
When the Irish offense got on the field — slightly later than expected — the mentality of that “second thought” was the one they played with, as they delivered arguably their most impressive drive of the season. Against a high-level defense, Notre Dame calmly and methodically marched 75 yards down the field in 12 plays to level the score after a 6-yard score from sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love. Senior quarterback Riley Leonard completed five of six passes on the drive in addition to picking up 24 yards on the ground while looking like the elite dual-threat version of himself that Irish fans have been hoping to see all season. Just like that, the bad energy was gone and the Irish were back.
“That's the offense I want to see, that's a perfect drive on offense,” Freeman said about the Irish’s opening scoring drive. “It was great to see our guys reload and our offense be able to go out there and drive 75 yards down the field and score.”
With the score knotted at 7-7, the defining characteristic of the remainder of the first quarter was chaos. Any Irish fans who worried that special teams miscues and turnovers might prove too much to overcome didn’t have to wait long to have their fears assuaged as Louisville’s struggles in that facet of the game matched Notre Dame’s and then some in the first quarter alone.
On the ensuing possession, it was the Cardinals who fumbled while returning the kickoff. While they did recover, Notre Dame was able to gain possession when Shough fumbled on a quarterback keeper on the very next play. Shortly after, Leonard hit a wide-open sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse over the middle for a 34-yard touchdown, and the Irish were out in front.
After the Irish defense forced a three-and-out on Louisville's next possession, a high snap on the punt attempt led to a fumble, giving Notre Dame the ball on the Cardinals' 4-yard line. One Leonard rush into the end zone later, and the Irish — despite the nightmare start — found themselves up 21-7 with the first quarter still not over.
“We played lights out [in] the first half, especially offensively,” Freeman said. “Riley, man, he had a great week and performed really well.”
The second quarter was a similar story, as a fumble from junior running back Jadarian Price set Louisville up in prime position to score a touchdown, and a right-place, right-time interception by ball-hawking graduate safety Xavier Watts set up a Notre Dame field goal. When all was said and done, the Irish led 24-14 at the break, and apart from Notre Dame’s first long touchdown drive, every other score came on the heels of a turnover.
Notre Dame’s success on offense also came from its willingness to play aggressive. The Irish converted twice on fourth down, and according to Freeman, the willingness to take those types of risks rather than settling for field goals or punting comes from the trust the coaching staff has in the team’s defense, even while it faced a litany of injuries to key players on Saturday.
“We have a lot of confidence in our defense. It's why I'm so aggressive as a coach on fourth down,” Freeman said. “I want our team to be aggressive. We have to be aggressive, [have] an aggressive mentality. That was a reflection of that.”
In the second half, though, both teams seemed to settle down. After the frenetic first half, the third quarter was scoreless. Notre Dame’s offense was unable to find the rhythm it had established early on, while defensively, the Irish struggled at times but effectively employed a “bend-but-don’t break” mentality by making big plays at opportune moments. Louisville racked up nearly 400 yards of total offense, over 100 more than the Irish, but was unable to finish the job and get the ball into the end zone.
Despite that, the Cardinals managed to stay in the game. And when Louisville kicker Brock Travelstead drilled a 56-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame’s lead was down to one possession and the onus was back on the Irish offense that had stagnated as of late. More than 33 minutes after the game’s previous touchdown had been scored, Notre Dame delivered. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock dialed up a perfectly timed screen pass, Leonard put the ball on the money and Love made the catch and took it 32 yards to the house for his second touchdown of the day and the score that would ultimately be the game-winner.
“[In the] half, we weren't as successful,” Freeman said about Notre Dame’s play on offense. “Punt, punt, turnover on downs, and then J-Love has a great play. That's something we worked on all week. That was a big screen.”
Leonard has faced a steady stream of criticism from fans and media all season about his struggles in the passing game but finished Saturday 17 of 23 with a pair of touchdowns through the air and three completions of at least 30 yards, in addition to his customary 52 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
“[Leonard] played really well in the first half. Our whole entire offensive [unit] didn't play great in the second half. It's easy to point the finger at Riley, but I'm proud of the way he performed today and led our offense to victory,” Freeman said. “It's the competitor he is. He's a tough, tough person, man.”
Louisville responded with a touchdown to cut the score to 31-24, and after forcing an Irish punt, had one last chance to push the game to overtime in the final minutes. But Notre Dame's defense — the same unit that has earned so much confidence from Marcus Freeman and the entire team — proved its worth when it mattered most. Watts, who jokingly lamented after the game that he should have snagged his second interception of the day, broke up a long fourth-down pass from Shough to seal the victory, handing the Cardinals their first loss of the season.
Notre Dame still has a lot of work to do, and a lot of areas to clean up.
“Yeah, we have to get better. That's the most important thing,” Freeman said. “The main emphasis of this week is how do we improve … Got to look at schematically where can we continue to enhance.”
On Saturday, Notre Dame was exactly the team it needed to be and got exactly the result it needed. While every game from here on out may feel like a "must-win" for their College Football Playoff hopes, the Irish can take pride in knowing they toppled one of the nation’s top teams and delivered some of their best football of the season.
As for what’s next as the team enters its bye week that will be followed by a rivalry game against Stanford? Keep moving forward, keep getting better. And keep finding a way to get it done.
“We know we’ve got to improve. [We have] seven [more] guaranteed games, I told them,” Freeman said. “We're going to need everybody. [We] have to continue to get better, but it's a great feeling going into the bye week with a big win over a good Louisville team.”
