(This story was updated to correct a typo).
Notre Dame had as bad a start as it could against Louisville, fumbling the opening kickoff and giving up an early touchdown. Many fans had to think this was the beginning of a long day in South Bend. Fortunately, the Irish showed they aren’t going to give up that easily.
When the Irish’s offense finally did take the field, it came out looking ready to play. Led by [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag], the Irish ran an equal amount of runs and passes, moving the ball almost every time. It culminated in a 6-yard touchdown run by [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] that tied the game at 7.
The game didn’t stay tied for long though. After the Cardinals got the ball back, they appeared to get an opening when Tyler Shough ran 46 yards into the Irish territory. However, [autotag]Leonard Moore[/autotag] knocked the ball out of his hand, and [autotag]Jaiden Ausberry[/autotag] pounced on the fumble.
The Irish took advantage of that when Leonard hit [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag] for a 34-yard touchdown, giving them their first lead.
Then, the Irish knocked the ball further down field on a botched punt snap, setting themselves up only 4 yards from the goal line. Leonard immediately punched the ball in to give the Irish a 21-7 lead.
If you somehow have kept up with all of that to this point, here are some of the reactions we found on social media regarding that action-packed first quarter: