Although Notre Dame football suffered a crippling loss to Northern Illinois in Week 2, it's not out of the playoff picture yet. The Fighting Irish fought off No. 15 Louisville 31-24 on Saturday, and head coach Marcus Freeman couldn't be prouder.
Freeman sounded off after the win, via ESPN's Adam Rittenberg.
“That last drive, we had a lot of confidence. I know in this game you're supposed to have a lot of confidence on defense,” Freeman said. “That's why I'm so aggressive as a coach on fourth down because I have a lot of confidence in the defense. I'm proud of 'em, I'm proud of the coaching staff, I'm proud of the players in terms of how we learned hopefully from the lessons this last year taught us, and we were able to go out and perform and get the job done.”
Freeman was referring to Louisville's drive in the last two minutes of the game. With Notre Dame up 31-24, the Cardinals drove to their own 49-yard line before getting stopped on 4th-and-6, setting the Irish up for victory formation.
Although Notre Dame lost two fumbles, its defense forced three first-half turnovers, including Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough's first pick of the season. Irish quarterback Riley Leonard played a clean game, helping them gain a 24-14 halftime lead that they never let slip.
Will Notre Dame maintain its momentum?
Notre Dame football still has something to prove
While a good defense is always an asset, the Irish will go places if Leonard consistently plays like he did on Saturday. The 22-year-old consistently delivered the ball accurately and out of harm's way, including a 34-yard touchdown strike to Jaden Greathouse and a 32-yard screen pass hookup with tailback Jeremiyah Love, via the school's social media.
Notre Dame doesn't play another ranked school until a road date with No. 13 USC in Week 12. If the Irish play like they did on Saturday and run the table, they should sneak into the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff Field.
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