Louisville Upsets Notre Dame in Front of Record Crowd to Remain Unbeaten
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The undefeated start to the Jeff Brohm era of the Louisville football program continues onward with a statement win.
Hosting Notre Dame for a massive ranked showdown, Louisville was able to secure their biggest win since the Lamar Jackson era, coming out on top with a 33-20 upset victory Saturday in front of a record crowd at L&N Stadium.
The No. 25 Cardinals (6-0, 3-0 ACC) match their best start to a season since 2013, when they also won their first six, and extend their overall win streak to seven consecutive. The victory also snapped the No. 10 Fighting Irish's (5-2) lengthy 30-game regular season win streak against ACC competition, with Louisville becoming the first ACC team to take down Notre Dame since Miami in 2017.
On top of the win, Louisville also set a new attendance record in the process with an announced attendance of 59,081. It breaks the previous L&N Stadium record of 58,187 that was set in the 2019 season-opener also against Notre Dame.
Like last week at NC State, the winning effort was fueled by a phenomenal effort from the defense. Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman, who came into the game with no interceptions on the season, threw three against the Cardinals while also committing a pair of fumbles. He finished 22-of-38 for 254 yards and two touchdowns as well.
The Fighting Irish run game was also severely limited, as Louisville held them to just 44 rushing yards on the night. Running back Audric Estime, who entered the game as the nation's leading rusher, could only muster 20 yards on the ground against the Cardinals front seven.
Hartman was sacked four times, with defensive end Mason Reiger collecting two of them as well as a forced fumble. Safety Devin Neal had two of the Cardinals' three interceptions, with cornerback Quincy Riley securing the other. Linebacker T.J. Quinn led all tacklers with 10.
Offensively, Louisville made their hay on the ground, rushing for 185 yards against a stout Notre Dame front seven. Running back Jawhar Jordan rebounded from his pedestrian showing at NC State, running from 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Quarterback Jack Plummer had an efficient showing, going 17-of-24 for 145 yards and a touchdown to wide receiver Jamari Thrash. Thrash led all pass catchers with eight receptions for 75 yards.
Louisville got off to as good of a start in this game as you can have. Riley picked off Hartman for his first interception of the year on the opening drive, then turned that into points after orchestrating a methodical drive that culminated with a nine-yard touchdown to Thrash.
After that, thanks to a mix of an abandonment of the run, inefficient passing and some slightly questionable play calling, their offense fell into a lull. Louisville put up 70 yards on their first drive out, then could only muster 20 on their next four, all of which were punts. By halftime, the Cardinals amassed just 125 yards of offense
Fortunately, Louisville's defense held Notre Dame relatively in check in the first half. While the Fighting Irish were able to score a game-tying touchdown courtesy of walk-on receiver Jordan Faison, that was their only score of the half. Hartman was sacked three time in this half, also had an unforced fumble along with his interception, and the Irish could only collect 150 yards by halftime.
Louisville had a chance to take a lead into the half, but kicker Brock Travelstead's 42-yard field goal attempt with just one second left sailed wide right.
Unlike their start to the first half, Louisville's opening minutes of the second half could not have gone any worse. Thrash fumbled after a catch on the first play of the half, which Notre Dame then used to take the lead with a 53-yard field goal.
After that, the Louisville offense finally found their stride, proceeding to score on their next five drives out. Travelstead connected a game-tying 44-yard field goal, then Jordan had the go-ahead score with a long 45-yard touchdown.
Notre Dame's lone score of the second half came courtesy of a 54-yard field goal, but then Louisville got right back to work. Jordan notched a 21-yard rushing touchdown, then Travelstead kicked 45-, 32- and 35-yard field goal as the Cardinals attempted to bleed out the clock.
Defensively, Louisville was just as strong in the second half as they were in the first. After Notre Dame kicked a pair of field goals on their first three drives, that was then followed up with a pair of turnover on downs - one of which featured another Hartman fumble - and an interception by Neal on their next three drives.
The Irish did make things somewhat interesting late. After Hartman connected with Mitchell Evans for a six-yard score with 1:35 left, they ran and successfully converted an onside kick. However, the improbable comeback attempt was quickly snuffed out with Neal's second pick of the night.
Next up, Louisville will head back on the road and resume conference play for a matchup at Pitt. Kickoff against the Panthers is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 14 at 6:30 p.m. EST.
(Photo of Jawhar Jordan: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports
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