Notre Dame’s passing game still needs a lot of work. But it also proved to be the key to clearing No. 15 Louisville.
The No. 16 Fighting Irish defeated the Cardinals 31-24 after two big passing plays in the fourth quarter helped put the game away. Louisville defenders were confused when Jayden Harrison was wide open for a 34-yard catch. Two plays later, Riley Leonard hit Jeremiyah Love for a 32-yard catch-and-run TD on a screen pass, giving the Irish a 14-point lead with 9:16 to go.
Leonard’s stats were terrible before he found Harrison. Before that pass, he was just 15 of 21 passing for 97 yards. He finished the game 17 of 23 for 163 yards.
The lack of confidence in the passing game was evident on drives that included Love’s TD catch. Before the TD, Notre Dame had the ball in Louisville territory facing a fourth-and-3. Instead of throwing the ball, Leonard ran it up the middle. He got stuffed.
Notre Dame then didn’t put the ball in the air after Louisville cut the lead to seven with just over five minutes left. Leonard was tackled for a loss on a rollout to the right on third down and the Cardinals got the ball back with less than three minutes remaining.
The Cardinals then made a crucial mistake. Needing a yard on fourth down, Louisville was called for a delay of play with 1:10 to go before Tyler Shough was able to score it for what appeared to be a first down. After the penalty, his subsequent deep throw into double coverage fell incomplete.
A turnover-filled first half
The opening kick gave a taste of the first half. Louisville kicked off to Notre Dame and RB Devyn Ford fumbled the ball as soon as he was hit on the return. The Cardinals turned the fumble into a TD.
From that point on, Louisville couldn’t stop turning the ball over. The Cardinals fumbled on back-to-back possessions after Notre Dame tied the game. That helped give the Irish a 21-7 lead that they would never relinquish.
One of those fumbles was a bad kick break that put Notre Dame near the goal line.
The two teams combined for five turnovers as Notre Dame had another fumble and Shough threw an interception.
Why the win is so important for Notre Dame
Louisville was just one of two ranked teams remaining on Notre Dame’s schedule. Thanks to Florida State’s struggles to start the season, USC is now the only ranked team left ahead of the Fighting Irish. And it’s tough to see Stanford, Georgia Tech, Navy, Virginia and Army falling into the AP Top 25 ahead of their games against Notre Dame.
Had Notre Dame lost on Saturday, its playoff hopes would have been on life support thanks to that schedule — especially with a loss to USC. A 9-3 Notre Dame team with just one win in the rankings would seemingly have no shot at the College Football Playoff barring a maniacal season across the country.
Instead, Notre Dame’s path to 10-2 or better is still very clear. Even if the passing game is still a work in progress.
Leonard has thrown for just 750 yards in five games so far this season. The 163 yards he threw for Saturday tied his season high. Notre Dame can continue to win games against its upcoming opponents with a strong run game and an offense that functions like one. But it won’t be a serious contender unless it can throw the ball much more effectively.
