What to watch for: Notre Dame Irish

LOUISVILLE’S RUN DEFENSE NEEDS A REPEAT OF LAST YEAR

Notre Dame had one of the best rushing attacks in the country last year, averaging 5.28 yards per carry, led by one of the best running backs in the country. Louisville was able to hold them to 1.6 yards per carry, and they were the only team that was able to hold the Irish to under 125 yards on the ground while giving up just 44 yards rushing.

The cards must be repeated on Saturday. Riley Leonard hasn’t shown the ability to throw the football down the field, and if they can stop the run they should be able to contain the Irish offense greatly. The biggest factor in this game is keeping Jeremiyah Love in check.

LOUISVILLE SHOULD AVOID THROWING BEN MORRISON

I wouldn’t be surprised if I had written the same thing last year, but if I had, I would have been right. Ben Morrison is one of the best defensive players in the country, but in my opinion he is best at making timely plays in man coverage. He began his career with nine picks in two seasons and what sets him apart from other cornerbacks is his coverage of contested throws.

The back-shoulder throw has become a favorite for quarterbacks, but Morrison has shown multiple times in his career that he can make a blind pass to the ball while turning and slashing away (the image at the top of this post is an example). That’s just one of the aspects of his game that stands out to me. His physical coverage is what stands out to me, and that physicality is why I think the Cards should avoid him.

Notre Dame has athletes on defense, which forces Tyler Shough to speed things up. They also have defenders stuck in coverage, which limits the number of throws possible. I think UofL will be forced to make numerous stop routes, comebacks and other intermediate and quick throws on the sideline. Morrison will select these types of throws. In my opinion, UofL would be better off relying on the young corner on the other side of the field.

Notre Dame will work to get the ball to Beaux Collins on the outside

Any negative assessment of Notre Dame’s passing game cannot be overstated. They rank 120th or worse in almost every passing measurement related to yardage and haven’t been able to accomplish much regardless of the competition. Iowa is the only P4 team in the country to average fewer yards per attempt than the Irish, who didn’t have a quarterback change. That’s how bad things have been for ND so far this year.

However, Leonard has made one explosive play down the field this year, throwing to Beaux Collins on a straight-go route down the right sideline last weekend. They received single coverage and Collins simply ran past his man for an easy score. Leonard threw a perfect ball and 38 yards later Leonard had his only touchdown throw of the year.

I expect Notre Dame to work very hard to get the passing game going on Saturday. I also expect them to lean on Collins to unlock the deep passing game. There has been no shortage of outside throws from ND this year, but a very large percentage of those throws have been 5-7 yards and there aren’t many players who can chase the catch. Collins has the size and quickness to make chunk plays down the sideline. I fully expect them to try to make this happen.

The atmosphere will be electric

This will be the last time Notre Dame will face a ranked team outside of USC this year, which may be able to retain its ranking through the end of the year. The Cards also delivered a beating last year that Marcus Freeman and the veterans on this roster haven’t forgotten. Riley Leonard was shut down by that UofL defense last season at Duke. The Cards ended his season with an injury in that game from which he appears not to have recovered. That’s just the motivation for the people on the field.

Louisville basketball fans have long been considered smart, energetic and passionate about the sport. Personally, I feel the same way about ND football fans. You know what this season can be. They knew it when the season started and they definitely knew it after beating Texas A&M earlier in the season. The loss to Northern Illinois means they have to win this game to get into the playoffs. They just don’t have the juice from the remaining schedule.

This will be the atmosphere Louisville deserved in 2014. It will be a sea of ​​green and it will be loud. The scenes on-site and on-air will be moving, and it will be what the Louisville fan base signed up for a decade ago. I don’t think the team will be rattled as there are a lot of veterans who have played in big games. But I hope the fans take it all in and enjoy it.

SPECIAL TEAMS WILL BE CONSIDERED IN THIS GAME

Louisville has blocked three kicks this season and I don’t want to diminish that in any way with what I’m about to do. None of these teams have shown the ability to remain consistent in the third phase of the game. UofL had a field goal blocked last weekend and they missed two other shots. Notre Dame has faked or botched several punts and kick attempts this year.

Someone is going to get a big return in this game. Maybe not as monumental as Tayon Holloway’s blocked field goal and return, but I expect there will be a punt or a kick to score in this game. ND had a big return this season on a reverse against Love on a kick return. UofL has Isaac Brown as a returner and I think he could get a chance as a full-time punt returner in the future. Someone is going to break a big one.

UOFL needs to force RILEY LEONARD to make mistakes

Riley Leonard has fumbled the ball four times this season. He also made fifteen fumbles in his career and it is documented that he was unable to keep the ball throughout his career. Quarterbacks have the ball more than anyone else, so fumbles are not uncommon, but Leonard has committed 12 or more fumbles this year and his problems holding the ball appear to have gotten worse as his career has progressed. He had a maximum of four fumbles a year before this season, but he has already reached that number.

As I mentioned above, I expect the Irish to be pushing the ball down the field this weekend, and that means they will need to drop Leonard back and hold the ball longer to accomplish that. I also think they will continue to use him on certain runs as he has excelled on them this season. The Cards have to look for ways to get a strip sack and they have to hit the ball multiple times on the run so guys can try to knock the ball out when it goes into space. Miami of Ohio had a very nice forced fumble last weekend where the defender knocked the ball loose with a hammer blow. The cards must be opportunistic.