Notre Dame football returns to the primetime slot on ABC when they take on the Louisville Cardinals on Saturday night. The Cardinals are out to their first 5-0 start since 2013 and are primed to pull off the upset against Notre Dame. In a gauntlet of a schedule this season for Notre Dame, they probably weren't expecting this game to be a ranked matchup. Let's look ahead at the Saturday night game.
When and where is the game?
It will be a ranked matchup at L&N Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky when the 10th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish face off against the No. 25 Louisville Cardinals. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EDT.
How to watch Notre Dame vs. Louisville
The Notre Dame vs. Louisville game will be on ABC. You can live stream on fuboTV.
Date: Saturday, October 7 | Time: 7:30 p.m. EDT
Location: L&N Stadium — Louisville, Kentucky
TV channel: ABC | Live stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)
Odds: Notre Dame -6.5 | O/U 53.5
Notre Dame storylines
Notre Dame football has dominated ACC competition since entering into a scheduling agreement with the conference in 2014. The agreement ensures that the independent Notre Dame will get to fill out their schedule with ACC matchups. It is stated that Notre Dame will play five schools from the league each season until 2037. Notre Dame is 42-7 against ACC opponents, including 30 consecutive victories since the start of the 2017 season. Notre Dame's well-recruited offensive and defensive lines are built to match up against the best teams in the SEC and Big Ten and are dominant against the lower-level ACC teams.
Sam Hartman set several records in the ACC while he was a member of Wake Forest. Now, he is making a name for himself with Notre Dame. He has 145 passing attempts with no interceptions, the longest streak to start the season, and the fourth-longest mark in Notre Dame football history. He has thrown 14 touchdowns and zero interceptions, leading all FBS quarterbacks. Hartman also leads all active FBS quarterbacks with 124 career passing touchdowns.
Hartman will get two of his biggest weapons back from injury. Jaden Greathouse and Jayden Thomas missed Notre Dame's narrow win over Duke last weekend but are slated to return against Louisville. Greathouse has 166 yards with one touchdown, and Thomas has 195 yards with one touchdown.
Louisville storylines
Louisville is outscoring opponents 34-0 in the first quarter this season. If they can limit Hartman and the Notre Dame offense early on Saturday, they will get them out of rhythm and give themselves a good chance of victory. Louisville hasn't had any experience this year playing from behind, so a Notre Dame onslaught early might turn the tide.
Lousiville showed in their last game that they aren't just an offensive force. They limited North Carolina State to 10 points and 201 yards of offense. It was the lowest total for NC State since Notre Dame held them to 198 yards in 2016.
“Our defense was aggressive in their approach all day,” head coach Jeff Brohm said. via Louisville report. “We got after the quarterback, and we challenged routes. When you have two veteran corners that can guard one-on-one, we allowed them to do that. That helped us win the football game.”
The Cardinals averaged 43.0 points and 542.0 yards per game through the first four games. They struggled against NC State, only putting up 13 points. This test against Notre Dame will help see if the NC State game was just a blip on the radar or if their offense was just taking advantage of weaker defenses.
Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Brohm will have his No. 12 jersey added to Louisville's Ring of Honor before the game. If the players needed extra motivation, honoring their offensive coordinator may be it.
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