Tag: Louisville

On3 projects Notre Dame as 11th seed in College Football Playoff

How encouraged are you by this?

Notre Dame has played only five games so far, and the way the season has played out has complicated its College Football Playoff prospects. That loss to Northern Illinois will hang over the team as long as it remains in contention. But the important thing is the Irish do remain in contention.

On3 is among those outlets that has the Irish in the playoff. In this projection, the Irish are the 11th seed, visiting Georgia in the first round. Ari Wasserman, who built the projection, explains why the Irish are among the last four major teams in:

“The loss to Northern Illinois is still fresh on everybody’s mind because that was such a shocking loss, but Notre Dame took care of business against Louisville on Saturday. Remember, many thought Louisville would be one of the toughest tests on the Irish’s schedule. Notre Dame has to travel to USC in its season-finale, but it’ll likely be favored for the rest of its games leading into that trip to Los Angeles on Nov. 30. Notre Dame’s schedule is really manageable.”

We’ll find out how much this hold up or if it even improves as the season goes on. For now though, the Irish are in with at lest one projection.

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Notre Dame offers 2026 three-star Michigan offensive lineman recruit

Would you like him on the Irish?

Just because Notre Dame had a football game Saturday didn’t mean it wasn’t working to attract future talent. In this case, it was Sullivan Garvin, a three-star offensive lineman recruit from Allegan, Michigan, which is about a 90-minute drive from South Bend.

Garvin took in the Irish’s win over Louisville, then announced on social media that the Irish had extended him an offer. It was easily the most prominent offer Garvin has received thus far as the other ones he currently has on the table are from Indiana, Minnesota and six Mid-American Conference programs.

The Irish’s only two commits for 2026 so far are quarterback [autotag]Noah Grubbs[/autotag] and receiver [autotag]Dylan Faison[/autotag], so Garvin accepting this offer would be consistent with that class to this point. If he became a star for the Irish, he would be the latest in a line of Irish offensive linemen who have done so. He seems to hope that happens, too:

Best of luck to Garvin as he ponders his college decision.

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How social media reacted to Notre Dame-Louisville: Irish side

How did you feel about this game?

Notre Dame was looking to go into its first bye week on the right note. Louisville came into South Bend with a potent offense, but the Irish’s defense had lived up to expectations in every game thus far regardless of how well the team as a whole had performed. The question was whether the entire Irish squad could support that defense.

The answer to that question was a resounding yes as the Irish built on an impressive first quarter to defeat the Cardinals, 31-24. The contest had a few iffy spots but otherwise was well-played. [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] and his staff surely will want to clean up those spots before their next game against Stanford in two weeks.

Did Irish fans feel confident after this win though? Did they wish they had seen more dominance, or were they merely happy to see their team continue to control its fate as best it can at this point? Here’s an idea based on these reactions we found on social media:

Social media reacts to Notre Dame scoring three first-quarter touchdowns

Try and keep up with this.

(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:

Notre Dame confirmed to wear green jerseys vs. Louisville

Dress appropriately if you’re going to the game.

For a while, there was doubt about whether Notre Dame would match its fans for the annual “Irish Wear Green” game against Louisville. Part of that has to do with the fact that the university never officially released images of the uniform combination for such a game. Those doubts can be put to rest now.

[autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] has announced that the Irish will indeed wear green jerseys against the Cardinals, a decision he indicated earlier in the week that he would leave up to the captains. There’s no telling exactly how long that decision-making process was, but it’s been completed.

Although we don’t for certain right now what the uniform will look like, Blue and Gold Illustrated has learned that the green jerseys will be worn with white pants along with the usual gold helmets.

The Irish have an all-time record of 41-13-1 when wearing green jerseys, splitting their first two such games under Freeman.

The hope is the Irish won’t repeat what happened when they wore the jerseys last season. They came agonizingly close to upsetting Ohio State, only to hamper themselves by having only 10 defensive players on the field when the Buckeyes scored the winning touchdown with one second left.

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Louisville SB Nation site editor rips Rudy’s father to shreds in piece

Did you like how Ned Beatty’s character behaved in the film?

Notre Dame plays Louisville this coming weekend, so a lot of Cardinals fans might be watching “Rudy” to get in the mood. Among them is Mike Rutherford, the editor for Card Chronicle, the Louisville site for SB Nation.

Rutherford watched the movie many times growing up, and he has decided to dedicate an entire piece to why [autotag]Rudy Ruettiger[/autotag]’s father, played by Louisville native Ned Beatty, is the worst character in the entire movie.

Rutherford qualifies his comments by saying not much is known about how the senior Ruettiger was in real life. He then gives one specific example after another about how awful the on-screen senior Ruettiger is.

I can’t say it’s a completely unfair assessment. My late father-in-law, an avowed Notre Dame hater and Alabama fan who loved the outcome the 2013 BCS title game, was triggered by Ruettiger saying Notre Dame Stadium was “the most beautiful sight these eyes have ever seen”. Given that he was married and had built a family, it shows how he lacked perspective.

Just to drive the point homer, Rutherford makes his feelings known right off the bat when plugging the piece on social media (warning: NSFW language):

So whether you agree with how this character carried himself or not, there’s a perspective out there that he was exactly not how a father should be. It definitely gives one cause to think.

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Tale of the Tape: Notre Dame defense vs. Louisville offense

Nobody is arguing that Notre Dame doesn’t have a solid defense. In fact, its opponents so far will agree that it’s almost impossible to score on it. With more consistent offensive play, we might be talking about an undefeated team in South Bend. …

Nobody is arguing that Notre Dame doesn’t have a solid defense. In fact, its opponents so far will agree that it’s almost impossible to score on it. With more consistent offensive play, we might be talking about an undefeated team in South Bend. Alas, Irish fans must deal with the fact that their team has a 3-1 record and thus left to see how the rest of the season plays out.

Meanwhile, Louisville’s offense has been nothing short of awesome, and it will get the opportunity to showcase just how good it can be when it comes to Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday. Of course, that depends on whether it has enough firepower to overcome that Irish defense. It’s hard to predict when we never know which Irish team is going to show up.

Here’s how the Irish’s defense compares with the Cardinals’ offense, which hopefully will give at least some of you an idea of which side could win out:

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:

Roddy Jones: ACC’s playoff hopes depend on how they play Notre Dame

Time for the Irish to spoil the ACC’s plans.

As we begin the superconference era, Notre Dame remains an independent. The tradeoff for that is devoting a large portion of its schedule to the ACC, and fans of teams in that conference really might have to root against the Irish this year in order to have a chance at the College Football Playoff.

In an appearance on the “GoJo and Golic” podcast hosted by former Irish [autotag]Mike Golic[/autotag] and [autotag]Mike Golic Jr.[/autotag], ESPN analyst Roddy Jones gave his insights on what the ACC would have to do to get the most teams possible into the playoff. He said that depends on how well the conference takes care of the Irish:

Looking at the Irish’s schedule, Florida State and possibly Louisville really are the only ACC opponents who could give them problems. With little room for error themselves, they’ll have no concern for the ACC’s playoff aspirations. They’ll be giving it their all every week, as they should.

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Notre Dame announces two more football games have been sold out

Going to either of these games?

Notre Dame is expected to have a big season, and fans want to get out to see the Irish. Naturally, fans want to see them at Notre Dame Stadium, and it’s becoming clear it doesn’t matter who the opponent is.

While sellouts are typical for Irish games, it always amazes that they happen even when it’s not the home opener or involving a high-profile opponent. The Irish have confirmed this fact by announcing they’ve sold out the game against Miami (Ohio) and their lone night home game against Florida State. This is on top of the sellout against Louisville they already announced, bringing their sellout total to three:

If you want to go to a home game this year but haven’t bought tickets, there’s no need to panic yet. There still are three games available: the home opener, senior day and the annual clash with Stanford. It’s not too late.

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