LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – When Notre Dame plays host to Louisville on Saturday, it will be the lower-ranked team. Louisville jumped four spots to No. 15 after its win over Georgia Tech in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, released Sunday. Notre Dame was up just one spot, to No. 16.
But despite leaping over the Fighting Irish in the poll, Louisville heads to South Bend a 4 1/2 -point underdog. There is no lack of familiarity with the opponent or the setting for U of L coaches and players.
The Cardinals are 2-2 against Notre Dame all time, after a 33-20 victory last season in L&N Stadium. That win evened Jeff Brohm’s career record against the Irish to 1-1.
And while “one game at a time” is a mandatory mantra in sports, Brohm acknowledged a bit of a peek-ahead after Sunday’s 31-19 win over Georgia Tech.
“(Notre Dame) is a really talented football team,” he said. “I didn’t see the game this week, of course, but last week they dominated. I watched the whole tape already.”
It should be said, watching tape is something Brohm does in his spare time. But his advance screening of the Fighting Irish fostered some concern.
“We'll have our hands full,” he said. “They're really good on defense, they're fast, they're aggressive, they're strong, and on offense, they're going to run the ball at you and pound it at you.”
For a second straight season, U of L will face a Notre Dame quarterback that it previously faced as an ACC opponent. Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard, a transfer from Duke, faced Louisville last October, going 9-for-23 for 121 yards and an interception in a 23-0 loss in L&N Stadium.
That was three weeks after Louisville beat Notre Dame in Louisville.
Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough, despite his long collegiate experience, has never played at Notre Dame, though he did take a recruiting visit to South Bend.
“I took a visit, you know, way back in Vietnam, when I was in high school,” he quipped. “So I have faint memory, flew to Chicago and drove there on a visit. . . . You know, obviously a perennial program. They have a really good team and good coaches, so it will be good to go back there. We’ve just got to do everything that we can this whole week of preparation to fix what we've done and continue to get better.”
His favorite target this season, hasn’t played at Notre Dame, but he’s been in plenty of big atmospheres as a transfer from Alabama. He’s played at Texas, Tennessee, LSU and Auburn. He had 10 catches in the 2021 College Football Playoffs, including six in the championship game.
“The thing is to focus on what's important now, and that's the next win, and that's the next game,” Brooks said. “We know that Notre Dame’s a great team, and we’ve got to come out, have a great week of practice and just stack our days and be prepared. We know it's going to be a dog fight, and we don't, we're going to come bring the smoke.”
Defensive lineman Rene Konga came to Louisville with Big Ten experience from Rutgers, having played games in Michigan’s Big House, Ohio State’s Horseshoe and at Penn State.
“I'm excited,” he said. “You know, I'm a big on competition. I'm a competitor at the end of the day. I heard it was a good game against Notre Dame last year, so I'm hoping we have another good game this year and do what it takes to come out of top.”
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