A Notre Dame fumble on the opening kickoff against Louisville gave the Cardinals an early 7-0 lead — and the Fighting Irish faithful heartburn.
Notre Dame fans probably feel a bit better after the Irish responded with an effective drive that included a fourth-down conversion and was capped off by a 6-yard touchdown run from Jeremiyah Love.
The touchdown drive took 12 plays and 75 yards. Quarterback Riley Leonard hit Jayden Thomas for 5 yards on fourth-and-three to keep the drive alive, and Leonard had a key 12-yard run one play before Love punched it in.
Notre Dame and Louisville are now tied at 7 with 7:22 left to play in the first quarter.
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The No. 16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish will need all hands on deck against the No. 15 Louisville Cardinals in South Bend today.
And with the obvious exception of players who are out for the season, the injury report looks clean for this week.
Every player listed on the team’s two-deep roster will be available for the Irish as they face their first real test since losing to Northern Illinois.
A win keeps Notre Dame’s playoff hopes alive, while a loss could end the playoff run. At the very least, if the Irish lose to Louisville, they will be hoping for a lot of other big losses in the Top 25 over the remainder of the season.
Louisville presents a huge challenge for Notre Dame, and while the Irish are missing players like Jordan Botelho who are done for the season, they at least have a relatively healthy roster for the showdown with the Cardinals.
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While not every expert is picking Notre Dame this week, a decent amount feel cautiously optimistic about the Fighting Irish over Louisville.
It’s almost certainly not hyperbole to suggest that Notre Dame’s home game against Louisville this weekend could determine the Fighting Irish’s postseason fate.
Even before Notre Dame suffered a shocking loss to Northern Illinois, the matchup against the Cardinals was considered one of the biggest tests for the Irish, along with the season opener at Texas A&M and the tilt with Florida State — at least until the Seminoles fell apart.
Notre Dame Nation is likely nervous about this game, both because it’s the first true test since the NIU debacle and because the Cardinals effectively ended the Irish’s postseason bid last season.
There is one key difference from 2023 — this year’s game is in South Bend. Maybe the green jerseys will help
Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price runs the ball up the field during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Northern Illinois at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend.
With that in mind, the experts have their picks in, and it’s a mixed bag, though some pundits are leaning towards the Irish.
Notre Dame film study shows need for improvement at quarterback.
The Athletic continued its look at life behind the scenes with Miami of Ohio, watching the Redhawks’ coaches break down Notre Dame game film.
The article is illuminating — while some things have likely changed after the Fighting Irish beat the Redhawks 28-3 — there is some insight into what opposing coaches think Notre Dame does and doesn’t do well. Or at least through the first three games.
The biggest concern for Irish fans is that quarterback Riley Leonard came off looking bad. Miami coaches saw a QB who couldn’t get past his first read and was “flustered” by pressure.
Again, the film study occurred before the game, and Leonard did look better late after a sluggish start. And it’s clear through four games that he is a true running threat. Still, given how touted Leonard was coming over from Duke via the transfer portal, it’s not good to have opponents hoping he passes the ball.
Sep 21, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Benjamin Morrison (20) breaks up a pass intended for Miami Redhawks wide receiver Reggie Virgil (0) in the second quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images
On the other hand, if he continues to improve, these concerns, as well as the inconsistent passing offense from the first few games, could be a thing of the past.
Another takeaway from the article: Miami coaches pointing out that Notre Dame’s defensive backs are physical, even at risk of being flagged for defensive pass interference. Miami staff also said the offensive line, while inexperienced and lacking a true star, was better than most people think. Finally, the coaching staff was in disagreement over whether Irish linebacker Jaylen Sneed was a disruptive defender or a poor tackler. We’ll remind you one final time to try not to overreact to anything, good or bad, that the Miami coaches saw on film a week ago. But the bit about Leonard is a tad worrisome, even if he improved later in the game against the Redhawks.
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Notre Dame moves just one spot in the AP Top 25 poll after beating Miami of Ohio.
Notre Dame has moved up one spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll to No. 16 after beating Miami of Ohio 28-3 on Saturday.
The top five sees very little movement — the first four of Texas, Georgia, Ohio State, and Alabama remains the same. Tennessee moves up one spot to replace Ole Miss.
Notre Dame’s next opponent, Louisville, jumps four spots after beating Georgia Tech 31-19 and is now No. 15. The Fighting Irish will host the Cardinals in South Bend.
Another big mover was Michigan, jumping six spots to No. 12 after coming back against USC. The Trojans dropped two spots to No. 13.
Illinois jumped 5 spots to No. 19 after beating Nebraska 31-24 in overtime while Clemson picked up four spots after beating N.C. State. Big movers in the wrong direction were Oklahoma and Oklahoma State — both dropped six spots after losses.
Boise State enters for the first time, and is now ranked 25. Northern Illinois dropped out of the rankings after losing to Buffalo in overtime at home.
POLL ALERT: Tennessee rises to No. 5 and Boise State enters the AP Top 25 college football poll for the first time since 2020.
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Notre Dame probably would’ve been better off with an NIU win Saturday.
Just two weeks after coming into South Bend and beating Notre Dame in what might be the biggest upset of the 2024 college football season, the No. 23 Northern Illinois Huskies lost to Buffalo, 23-20, in overtime. At home.
This loss could have implications for Notre Dame’s playoff chances, though with just four games played, there’s still much more to figure out.
Almost every pundit and observer thought that not only would Notre Dame beat the Huskies, but the Irish would do it handily. We all know what happened next: Notre Dame lost 16-14.
The questions being asked after that game were these: Is NIU that good? Is Notre Dame overrated? Did Notre Dame simply have a bad day, perhaps by overlooking an underdog opponent?
Those questions remain unanswered. Northern Illinois jumped into the rankings after beating Notre Dame but also had the following week off. It’s too early to tell if a close loss to Buffalo means NIU isn’t as good as people thought. Neither does it help us determine if NIU is a playoff contender or if Notre Dame had a bad day — or both.
The following weeks will bring answers.
Northern Illinois Huskies kicker Kanon Woodill kicks the game winning field goal in the fourth quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
It would probably be good for Notre Dame if the Huskies are a true contender since it makes the loss to NIU look worse in the eye of any playoff decision-makers. Because the Irish are independent, they have no chance at an automatic bid via a conference championship.
While the Irish were considered, at the season’s start, as a possible playoff entrant with 1 or 2 losses, that depended on whom they lost to. Before the season kicked off, most observers would’ve excused an Irish loss to Florida State, USC or maybe Louisville. However, the conventional thinking since the loss to NIU is that Notre Dame will need to run the table to qualify for the College Football Playoff.
Notre Dame, for its part, hasn’t answered questions, either. The 66-7 drubbing of Purdue wasn’t particularly surprising, and the Irish once again started slowly at home against a Mid-American Conference team on Saturday, though this time they pulled away to beat Miami of Ohio.
There are other teams factoring into this equation. Florida State looks bad, so a win against the Seminoles no longer looks impressive. USC fell to Michigan on Saturday. Other upsets could happen, leaving a bunch of top 20 teams with one or two losses at season’s end.
Still, the NIU loss to Buffalo will likely hurt Notre Dame by making its loss to the Huskies look worse — unless NIU has a strong run to the finish line.
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Notre Dame fumbled yet again, but this time they kept it — and scored.
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love has given the Fighting Irish a 21-3 lead over the Miami of Ohio Redhawks with 4:17 remaining in the third quarter in South Bend.
Replays showed that Love fumbled before breaking the plane of the goal line, but Notre Dame right tackle Aamil Wagner fell on the ball in the end zone. Regardless of who gets credit, it’s a huge score for the Irish, who are looking to pull away from the Redhawks following a Christian Gray interception.
The Fighting Irish are also looking to overcome a sloppy start — Notre Dame has shot itself in the foot more than a few times with penalties and turnovers, and the offense looked disjointed in the first half. The Irish have looked smoother in the second half.
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Notre Dame quarterback has yet another rushing touchdown. He still, however, has not thrown one via the air.
This one, which capped a 10-play, 87-yard drive that took 4:59 off of the clock, came on an 8-yard scamper. The Mitch Jeter extra point put the Irish up 7-3 over the Miami of Ohio Redhawks.
The Notre Dame offense had looked disjointed at home against the Redhawks — the second time in two weeks that the Fighting Irish were struggling to move the ball against a Mid-American Conference team.
This drive, however, looked more smooth, thanks to some easy passes and runs from Leonard, Jeremiyah Love, and Jadarain Price. Penalties on the Redhawks’ defense also helped the Irish get into scoring position.
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The Notre Dame injury report looks pretty good against Miami of Ohio
The only name on the Notre Dame injury report for Week 4 is Joshua Burnham.
The sophomore defensive lineman is out with an ankle injury as the Fighting Irish host the Miami of Ohio Redhawks.
Otherwise, all the players listed on the Fighting Irish two-deep are available.
There are, of course, players like offensive tackle Charles Jagusah and defensive lineman Jordan Botelho who are out for the season.
Otherwise the Irish look pretty healthy as they seek to avoid another letdown against a Mid-American Conference team at home. The Redhawks should be an easier foe than the Northern Ilinois Huskies.
The injury report could’ve been more dire as the Irish got a bit banged up against Purdue, but while losing Botelho for the season is a blow, it’s good for Notre Dame that most of the roster will be available.
The @NDFootball availability update for this afternoon’s game vs. Miami (OH) (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC):
Sophomore defensive lineman Joshua Burnham (ankle) is unavailable for the game today.
All other student-athletes listed on the Notre Dame two-deep this week are available.
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Here’s how the experts are picking Notre Dame vs. Miami of Ohio.
With Notre Dame looking to avoid a second letdown at home against a Mid-American Conference team in the first month of 2024, the Fighting Irish should be ready for any challenge presented by the Miami of Ohio Redhawks.
So, what do the experts think?
Irish Illustrated’s Kevin Sinclair has the Fighting Irish walking away with a 34-7 victory.
“Notre Dame will continue its evolution offensively while the defense won’t give up points until the reserves roll onto the field in the second half,” he wrote. “Look for another strong rushing day from the Irish offense and a deep shot that will develop over increased play-action.”
His colleague John Brice aka Football Scoop has the Irish tallying a 38-13 win over the Redhawks.
“The Irish win the turnover battle for the second-straight week and third time in four games. They win the lines of scrimmage,” he wrote. “They win the game.”
