By Derek DeBurger
This weeks installment of our birds of a feather series dives into a rematch of Louisville’s defining win over Notre Dame from a year ago.
Answering questions on behalf of The Observer is their Sports Editor, Tyler Reidy.
This is a major game for many reasons. For the Irish, not only does Notre Dame need to keep their playoff hopes alive, but it feels like each loss turns up the temperature on Marcus Freeman’s seat ever more. The Irish have responded well following their loss to NIU, but do you sense any lingering urgency from the players or staff?
As far as urgency goes, I do think it’s there but doesn’t relate to the playoff as much as people might think. Marcus Freeman said as much after the NIU loss — Notre Dame paid too much mind to the “you’re a shoo-in for the playoff” conversations that followed the Texas A&M win, and they got burned. For the past couple of weeks since NIU, my sense is that the team’s focus and urgency are geared more towards week-by-week preparation for each opponents. After a potential win against Louisville and a bye week to follow, I think you might see some postseason-based urgency pick back up, but right now I feel it’s more a matter of handling business the way that the program should.
The Notre Dame offensive line has been absolutely snakebitten this season with injuries. Four linemen will be out versus Louisville, but many of the replacements were starters on last year’s great O-line. How big a factor do you anticipate the lack of depth on the O-line being?
Well, you saw what happened in Louisville last year. Notre Dame struggled in the trenches and got kicked around. I think much of the same could happen on Saturday if the Irish don’t establish their run game — their only reliable source of offense right now — early, so the offensive line will play a key role. As far as the line’s depth goes, I’m not too worried about it. The interesting thing about most of these injuries is that they have moved more experienced players who were passed up by younger guys back into starting roles they occupied as recently as last year. So I don’t expect any kind of drastic dropoff in the offensive line’s performance moving forward, but the position group might not carry the same type of ceiling it did when the season began.
Riley Leonard is a great leader but is more raw as a passer at the quarterback position. Leonard has thrown just four touchdowns to five interceptions over his last 12 games played. Louisville has an amazing secondary, but that group could come into Saturday’s game pretty banged up. Do you think Leonard needs to make an impact through the air for the Irish to win the game?
I believe what the game requires of Riley Leonard will depend on the performance of Notre Dame’s defense early on. Just look at the difference between the NIU and Purdue/Miami games. When the Huskies scored on their opening drive and put Notre Dame behind at halftime, the Irish largely abandoned the ground game. Over the last two weeks, the defense has held its opposition to three combined first-half points, allowing the ground attack to settle in. If Louisville takes an early lead or stymies the Irish run game right out of the gate, I would expect a need for Leonard to make some big throws, but Freeman and company won’t ask too much of him if the run game is active and successful early.
Last season, Notre Dame was Louisville’s signature victory. This season, the Irish are breaking out their green-alternate jerseys against the Cards. Notre Dame has only worn their green jerseys twice in the past six years, and historically it’s a jersey worn in the biggest of rivalry games. How do you personally feel about the Irish choosing to don green against Louisville?
It’s the right choice. The only other game big enough to warrant Irish Wear Green is Florida State, but with any November game you run the risk of subzero temperatures breaking up the fan side of the green-out. I also think wearing green will give the stadium environment a needed lift given it’s a 3:30 game on Saturday. Notre Dame Stadium has always been electric for night games regardless of the opponent, but afternoon crowds (students included) typically aren’t as engaged in the game. The combination of Irish Wear Green and this being a revenge game will take care of that.
Finally, how do you think this game will go? What’s your score prediction?
This will be a dogfight throughout the first half. Notre Dame will run the football with respectable consistency, while Tyler Shough and the Cards will hit a few chunk plays through the air. Ultimately, the fate of this game will rest on what Notre Dame’s defensive line, perhaps its least-discussed position group, can offer down the stretch. Howard Cross and Rylie Mills are potential game-wreckers on the interior, but the edge rushers are Boubacar Traore (a sophomore who opened the year as a backup) and RJ Oben (a Duke transfer whom we are still waiting on the break out). If some combination of those four can collect a couple big sacks, force a fumble or flush Shough into a bad interception, Notre Dame will pull away late. I think they do, and the Irish win 31-20.
Photo by Vinny Porco
