CRAWFORD | Notre Dame using last year's Louisville loss for more than motivation | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- In case anyone was wondering, the topic of last year's game against Louisville will come up around the Notre Dame football complex this week. Heading into Saturday's 3:30 p.m. showdown with the Cardinals in South Bend, Notre Dame coach Mike Freeman said his team will not lack for motivation.

The Cardinals (3-0) leapfrogged Notre Dame (3-1) into the No. 15 spot in this week's Associated Press poll. The Fighting Irish are No. 16. And Louisville scored a convincing 33-20 win over a Top 10 Notre Dame team last year in L&N Stadium, with fans storming the field at the conclusion.

The Notre Dame fan site SlaptheSign.com called Louisville, "the biggest game of the year." The game is designated as the program's annual "Wear Green" game, and the Fighting Irish are expected to don green jerseys for the matchup – something generally saved for special occasions in recent times. The original alternate jerseys were introduced by Knute Rockne in 1921 to help make his receivers more visible on the field.

"As you think back to last year, it's not going to be a lack of motivation," Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. "They'll be motivated."

While Freeman noted that he'll have the stinging loss in front of his players a good bit this week, his primary concern won't be motivation. Rather, he wants to use it for instruction.

Louisville fans storm the field at L&N Stadium after an Oct. 7, 2023 win over Notre Dame.
ERIC CRAWFORD

"It's a lot like therapy," Freeman said. "Sometimes you got to revisit those dark places, you know, to kind of get out of it what you need to. So, we're definitely going to revisit last year. But my intentions are to make sure we gain the wisdom and the learning opportunities that the film of last year will truly tell us. . . . It's an opportunity for guys that weren't in this program last year to be able to reflect and understand that, 'Hey, we lost to this team last year. But there's a lot of great learning opportunities from that game, and that's what I'm going to preach to our team. … I'm not revisiting last year to motivate you. I'm revisiting last year to learn from those things."

Last year's game was another Louisville nightmare for then-Irish quarterback Sam Hartmann. He'd thrown three interceptions against the Cardinals as Wake Forest quarterback the year prior, and had three more in Louisville – one to Louisville star cornerback Quincy Riley, who has been announced as a game-time decision for Saturday's game after being banged up in a win over Georgia Tech last week.

Notre Dame is losing a key secondary piece of its own. Senior reserve cornerback Jaden Mickey announced on Monday that he will redshirt the rest of the season and go into the transfer portal when it opens. Mickey had played 82 snaps this season for a Notre Dame secondary that has a player among the nation's higher-rated performers at every position – Bronko Nagurski trophy winner Xavier Watts at safety, Jordan Clark at cornerback and Jaiden Ausberry at linebacker.

Notre Dame again will roll out a quarterback who struggled last year against Louisville at another school. Riley Leonard was hampered by injury and couldn't get much accomplished against the Cardinals in a 20-3 loss last season. He's coming off a game, however, in which he passed for 154 yards and ran for 143 in a win over Miami of Ohio. He's the only Power 4 quarterback with multiple 100-yard rushing games this season.

Ashton GIllotte — Louisville defensive end Ashton Gillotte wraps up Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman in the Cardinals' 2023 victory.
ERIC CRAWFORD

Leonard came under fire after Notre Dame's upset loss to Northern Illinois in South Bend. But Freeman said his performance last Saturday is why he continues to believe in his transfer QB.

"The performance that I see," he said. "The ability to rush the ball for about 150 yards, to throw it for 150 yards. You know, I think we had 400-500 total yards of offense. That gives me a lot of confidence in Riley Leonard. You know, as you evaluate the film, we actually threw the ball downfield really well (against Miami), probably the best we've done, but we missed some layups. And, you know, those are the ones that I'm sure everybody's talking about. Everybody sees the layups. But those will be corrected in practice. We've got to continue to do movement throws, but I've got a lot of confidence in Riley Leonard."

Much of Notre Dame's attention will be on Louisville's defense, which struggled to contain Georgia Tech's running quarterback, Haynes King, at times in last week's victory. But which also bothered the Irish with pressure a season ago, particularly defensive end Ashton Gillotte, who is a focus in this week's preparation, Freeman said. He was asked to compare Louisville's edge rusher to another All-Amercan defensive lineman, Texas A&M's Nic Scourton, formerly of Purdue.

"Think they use Gillotte in a different way than A&M used Scourton," Freeman said. "I know he mainly lines up at the end, but they can move him inside and do some different things with him to try to create a mismatch. So, we have to be prepared for that. Where are they going to put him to try to create a mismatch on third down and passing situations? We have to be aware of him at all times. He is a dynamic player, a dynamic pass rusher that can, if you don't know where he's at and have a plan for him, make it a long day for your offense."

The importance of the Louisville game is underscored by a glance at the Notre Dame schedule. After this game, Notre Dame may not face another nationally ranked team until its season finale against USC – if the Trojans can remain ranked for that long.

It's a chance to make an important impression for a program that will rely on an at-large berth if it is to make the 12-team College Football Playoff. The stakes, for the home team, are high.

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