Is Howard Cross III playing today? Injury updates for Notre Dame defensive line

Notre Dame defensive lineman Howard Cross III is dealing with a left ankle injury. Here are the latest updates.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

No. 8 Notre Dame defensive lineman [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag] has a left ankle injury and will miss Saturday’s game against the Virginia Cavaliers.

The Fighting Irish have used a stout defense to push their way towards the College Football Playoff, and Cross has been one of their best, if not their best, defensive linemen all season long. His loss will hurt, though it is not expected to be long-term.

Graduate running back [autotag]Devyn Ford[/autotag] is also unavailable for today’s game.

Howard Cross injury update

Cross could return as soon as next week for the Irish’s tilt against No. 16 Army in New York.

“It’s not a long-term thing, but our doctors made the determination he’s going to be out this week,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said Monday, according to the South Bend Tribune. “We hope to get him back the following week depending on how the rehab continues to happen.”

How long will Howard Cross be out?

Cross might miss just one game, but it’s hard to say for sure.

Notre Dame defensive linemen depth chart

[autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] and [autotag]Donovan Hinish[/autotag]will be tasked with stepping up — Mills had a monster game last week against Florida State. [Armel Mukam[/autotag] and [autotag]Sean Sevillano[/autotag] are other depth options.

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Notre Dame starts fast, then holds off Louisville for the victory

The Irish get a top-25 home win

After one quarter of play, it looked like Notre Dame football was going to run Louisville out of Notre Dame Stadium.

After running back [autotag]Devyn Ford[/autotag] fumbled the opening kickoff and the Cardinals found the end zone, the Irish responded with three straight touchdown drives.

Running back [autotag]Jeremiah Love[/autotag] got it started with a 6-yard plunge, then quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] found wide receiver [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag] for a 34-yard score. To cap off the flurry, Leonard ran one in from 4-yards away after Notre Dame recovered a botched snap on a punt.

Then the Irish’s offense went extremely quiet during the next two quarters, just a [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] 48-yard field goal, which kept the Cardinals in the game. Early in the fourth quarter, they cut Notre Dame’s lead to 24-17, but another response happened.

The Irish would march 75-yards on just 5-plays capped by a Love 32-yard touchdown reception from Leonard. The lead went back to two scores, which gave them a solid cushion.

Sep 28, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates with wide receiver Jaden Greathouse (1) after a touchdown against the Louisville Cardinals in the first quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

The Cardinals would come back and score a touchdown, to pull within a score once again. Notre Dame would need a big drive to seal the deal, but they couldn’t get it done. The defense saved the day as they made a final stop to end the game.

The Irish would win 31-24, improving to 4-1 on the year with a bye next week. They return to the field on October 12th to take on the Stanford Cardinal.

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Notre Dame statistical leaders through four games

Who’s on the board going into the next game?

The great thing about Notre Dame’s dominant win over Miami (Ohio) is that a few more players got a chance to shine. Consequently, we have a few new names popping up in our weekly statistical leaders listicle heading into the game against Louisville. That should force the Cardinals to be a little more aware of the players they’ll be going up against.

This goes without saying, but the Irish always can benefit from new players appearing in these categories. It highlights just how deep the team’s talent is, and anyone can step in at any point. It might take some players longer to crack the leaders lists than others, but that’s the beauty of a regular season that runs through the end of November.

So who are the players standing out the most going into the Irish’s last game before their first bye week? Take a look for yourself here:

Social media reacts to Eli Raridon scoring touchdown for Notre Dame

Nice job, young man.

Notre Dame’s home finale against Wake Forest is turning into a game in which some unlikely names are contributing. We already have seen touchdowns from [autotag]Devyn Ford[/autotag] and [autotag]Tobias Merriweather[/autotag]. Now, we have one from [autotag]Eli Raridon[/autotag], who didn’t really have any stats next to his name before this contest. That didn’t stop him from catching a 19-yard scoring pass from [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag]:

Raridon is a sophomore tight end and has a lot of time still to make his mark on the Irish. One touchdown won’t do a lot to move the needle, but he at least showed that he has the potential to move it even further. Hopefully, this is the first of many big plays he’ll make for the program over the next few years.

Once again, social media found itself in the position of reacting to a player most people weren’t think about before the game. Here are some of those reactions:

Social media reacts to Devyn Ford scoring Notre Dame’s first touchdown

There you go, Devyn.

[autotag]Devyn Ford[/autotag] had yet to score for Notre Dame since transferring over from Penn State. Senior day was his last opportunity to get a touchdown at Notre Dame Stadium. He finally broke through on a 12-yard reception late in the first quarter to give the Irish a 7-0 lead over Wake Forest:

Entering the game against the Deacons, Ford had 36 yards from scrimmage in nine games with 22 of those yards coming on passes. So you would have to forgive any Irish fans who somehow forgot he existed. Waiting until the last home game of the season to get on the scoresheet is an easy way for you to slip through the cracks. Still, he has to be happy to have that monkey off his back at last.

Social media probably didn’t expect to tweet about Ford today, but here are some of the best tweets that were found regarding his touchdown:

Notre Dame statistical leaders through seven games

Having lost two of its past three, Notre Dame officially has little left to play for. Before it can enjoy its first of two bye weeks, it must first deal with yet another ranked undefeated in USC. This could get worse before it gets better. Alas, the …

Having lost two of its past three, Notre Dame officially has little left to play for. Before it can enjoy its first of two bye weeks, it must first deal with yet another ranked undefeated in USC. This could get worse before it gets better. Alas, the Irish must carry on because the schedule dictates such.

Here’s who leads the major statistical categories for the Irish:

Notre Dame statistical leaders through six games

Who’s most likely to help defeat the Cardinals?

Notre Dame is getting ready to face another surging program, this time in Louisville. It probably would prefer to have an easier time than it did against Duke, which it barely escaped against. The road atmosphere the Cardinals fans will provide unlikely will be anymore forgiving though. That’s why the Irish must prepare for any and all possibilities.

Here are the statistical leaders for the Irish at the midway point of the season:

Notre Dame statistical leaders through five games

Who can get the Irish back on track after their heartbreaking loss?

Notre Dame doesn’t have time to think about what could have been against Ohio State. Its focus now must shift to a resurgent Duke team. Wins continue to be necessary because you never know what can happen over the next two months. The College Football Playoff might still remain in play.

Here are the Irish’s statistical leaders to watch for against the Blue Devils:

Notre Dame football: Injury updates headed to Central Michigan game

Injury update for Central Michigan week…

Notre Dame is preparing for a Saturday afternoon affair with Central Michigan as the Irish look to move to 4-0.  Fresh off a 45-24 victory at North Carolina State on Saturday, Marcus Freeman announced that senior linebacker and captain JD Bertrand exited the game with a head injury.

Freeman met the media for his weekly press conference and updated the status of Bertrand as well as a few other players dealing with pains.

Will Bertrand be able to play Saturday?  And what is the status of a few of the others recovering from injuries?

Here are the updates Marcus Freeman gave on a handful of players on Monday.

Social media reacts to Sam Hartman’s running, passing touchdowns

This dude is good.

A 7-3 Irish lead nearly became 7-6 but for a blocked field goal by [autotag]Jason Onye[/autotag] on a short field set up by a questionable no-call for targeting after [autotag]Devyn Ford[/autotag] was hit hard and lost the ball on a kick return. That no-call should spark some debate among college football fans.

Regardless of whether targeting should have been called, [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] led the Irish’s offense back onto the field and did some work. A 50-yard run by [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] ultimately set up a Hartman keeper that required only 5 yards to reach the end zone:

How many of you knew Hartman could leap into the end zone like Walter Payton if need be? Whether you knew that or not, it impressed all Irish fans. And if that wasn’t enough, he was able to get back to work quickly after [autotag]Ramon Henderson[/autotag]’s interception on the second play of the Tigers’ ensuing drive. He needed only four plays to hit [autotag]Chris Tyree[/autotag] for a 24-yard touchdown, extending the Irish’s lead to 21-3:

Let’s see what social media has to say about all of this: