Louisville coach Jeff Brohm knows that revenge will be a motivating factor when No. 16 Notre Dame hosts the No. 15 Cardinals on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.
Last October, Louisville posted a 33-20 upset at home over then-No. 10 Notre Dame. This time, the Cardinals (3-0) will head to Notre Dame Stadium, where the Fighting Irish (3-1) are eager to avoid another loss in front of a national audience.
“We expect their best,” Brohm said. “They will be ready to play, and they will be fired up to win this football game. So that’s why we have to worry about ourselves, have a great week of practice, and come ready to play. We can’t have a lot of mistakes.”
This season, Louisville has avoided crucial errors. The Cardinals have victories against Austin Peay, Jacksonville State and Georgia Tech in their first three contests.
Notre Dame already has had one major stumble, a stunning 16-14 home loss against Northern Illinois on Sept. 7. The Fighting Irish have rebounded with two straight wins against Purdue and Miami (Ohio) by a combined margin of 94-10.
Quarterback Riley Leonard has helped the Fighting Irish find their footing. Leonard has six rushing touchdowns and one passing TD and is averaging 7.0 yards per carry. He has completed 63.1 percent of his passes.
Leonard threw for 154 yards and ran for 143 in a 28-3 win over Miami last week.
“I’m really proud of him,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “He was the player of the game for our offense (last week) in terms of what he did. … And there is always room to grow. We’re never satisfied. We’re greedy people.”
Leonard and several other key players are new to the Fighting Irish this season, but Freeman said he would show clips of last year’s defeat to Louisville to help motivate his team.
“It’s a lot like therapy,” Freeman said. “Sometimes, you’ve got to revisit some of those dark places 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.”
Meanwhile, Louisville is eyeing a 4-0 start one year after opening the season with six straight wins. The Cardinals are led by Tyler Shough, a senior who has completed 68.4 percent of his passes for 850 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions this season.
Ja’Corey Brooks is Shough’s top target with 17 catches for 297 yards and two scores.
Brohm said he understands the high stakes surrounding this week’s matchup.
“This is a huge stage for our team,” he said. “To go up there and play in this atmosphere against a really good opponent can be a huge momentum swing in our direction if we can find a way to win, without question. It gives your team credibility and definitely elevates your program, so this is one of those games that you’ve got to take advantage of.”
