SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Notre Dame offense that scored 21 points in the first quarter of Saturday’s home game against No. 15 Louisville disappeared for far too long in a 31-24 victory for the No. 16 Irish.
On six meaningful drives in the second and third quarters — excluding one play to run out the clock to end the first half — the Irish scored just three points. And that 48-yard field goal came after the offense mustered only six yards in three plays following safety Xavier Watts’ interception returned to the Louisville 36-yard line.
Those other five scoreless drives ended in a fumble by running back Jadarian Price, a punt after five plays for 24 yards, a punt after a four-play drive that lost eight yards, a punt after a three-and-out and a failed fourth-and-3 rush on a 10-play, 40-yard drive.
But when Notre Dame (4-1) absolutely needed a response from its offense after Louisville (3-1) cut the lead to 24-17 on a 56-yard field goal with 11:25 remaining in the fourth quarter, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and Notre Dame’s playmakers delivered. Despite the drive starting with a false start on right guard Rocco Spindler, the Irish engineered a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive from which Louisville was unable to recover.
SUBSCRIBE TO INSIDE ND SPORTS TO STAY IN THE KNOW ON NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS
Related Content
► Progress over perfection enough for now to keep Notre Dame dreaming big
► Game Balls: Freshman Leonard Moore, DB Jordan Clark rise to the occasion
► Transcript: Marcus Freeman's postgame press conference after win over Louisville
► Game Thread: Notre Dame 31, Louisville 24
► Notre Dame football injury report: DE Joshua Burnham available vs. UL
Quarterback Riley Leonard rushed for six yards on the first snap. He threw to tight end Mitchell Evans on the next play for a three-yard gain to set up a critical third-and-6. Then Denbrock dialed up his first of two excellent play calls to get the Irish rolling.
After wide receiver Kris Mitchell motioned closer to receiver Jayden Harrison in the slot prior to the snap, Harrison ran up the field as if he were clearing out space for Mitchell running a in-and-out route underneath him. Both of Louisville’s defenders in the area reacted to Mitchell as Harrison slipped to the outside and ran wide open into the secondary. Leonard threw shorter than he should have, but Harrison still made the catch 17 yards downfield and pick up more yardage for a 34-yard gain.
“No better feeling as a quarterback when your coach just calls a play and you know it’s going to work,” Leonard said. “We called a couple there. They weren’t doing a great job in-and-outing the rub routes. So whenever J2, Jayden Harrison, popped open, that’s exactly what we expected and anticipated.”
Leonard, who finished 17-of-23 passing (73.9) for 163 yards and two touchdowns, admitted that the open throws — like the 34-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jaden Greathouse in the first quarter as well — get in his head sometimes.
“Those are the ones that freak me out,” Leonard said, “because I’m like, ‘Dude, don’t miss them.’ Because I missed a couple last week.”
Love, who was limited to 34 rushing yards and one touchdown on 11 carries, picked up five yards in the middle on first down. Then Denbrock dialed up some brilliance again with a throwback screen to Love. Leonard faked a handoff to Love then faded to his right as if he would throw that direction. Leonard than pivoted a threw over defensive end Tramel Logan to a wide open Love with four offensive linemen ready to block in front of him. Spindler, left guard Sam Pendleton and left tackle Anthonie Knapp kept Love untouched most of the way, then Love powered his way through attempted tackles in the last 10 yards for a 32-yard touchdown.
Leonard said the Irish offense practiced that play all week.
“And what a great time to call it,” Leonard said. “Just worked out perfectly. They were in the perfect defense against it. Shout out to the coaches there. Those are easy plays to execute, and we did it.”
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO INSIDE ND SPORTS ON YOUTUBE
Notre Dame’s offense could have made the end of the game easier for its defense by icing the game away after Louisville scored another touchdown, but it failed to pick up a first down. Head coach Marcus Freeman, who spoke repeatedly after the game about wanting to be aggressive, opted for his team to go conservative with a pair of Leonard runs to start the drive. Louisville had no timeouts remaining, so the clock rolled between the two plays after a Louisville defender received medical attention.
On third-and-5, Leonard was given the option to throw short to Evans, but with Evans blanketed by a pair of defender, Leonard took a sack to keep the clock running.
“Again, it wasn't beautiful because we didn't get a first down, but we ran 120 seconds off the clock, which was crucial,” Freeman said. “Then as you go to punt, you're able to take off another 40 seconds. We would've loved to have been able to finish the game with the ball in our offense's hands, but we were really looking at time management right there.”
Leonard, who missed a play in the second quarter after getting the wind knocked out of him, was in visible pain following his second-down run. Notre Dame called timeout as the play clock expired before third down, which allowed Leonard to stay in the game.
“He's banged up,” Freeman said. “We ran him. We knew we were going to have to run him. Tough, tough guy. He is tough. Sacrifices his body. I think he might have got kneed in his thigh or something like that. I don't know exactly what it was. He said I'm good to go. I want the ball in my hands. It's the competitor he is.”
Notre Dame used 2:33 of game clock between the start of its drive and Louisville taking over possession with 2:44 left in the game. But that was still plenty of time for the Cardinals to score a touchdown from their own 45-yard line.
Fortunately for the Irish, Louisville failed to pick up even one first down. The Cardinals were flagged for a delay of game prior to a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak attempt by Tyler Shough. Then Shough’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete with nickelback Jordan Clark in tight coverage on wide receiver Caullin Lacy and safety Xavier Watts in position to break up the pass.
Notre Dame’s offense was never going to fully dominate Louisville. The Cardinals, which entered the game ranked No. 11 in the FBS in scoring defense (11 points per game), No. 17 in rushing defense (87.3 rushing yards allowed per game) and No. 23 in total yards allowed (268.7 per game), had too good of a defense to continue to give up points the way they did in the first quarter.
The Irish offense took advantage of a hot start and did just enough of the fourth quarter to put away Louisville. A complete game offensively when facing any team not named Purdue continues to elude this team.
But Leonard is confident in what the Irish have done heading into an off week.
“Whatever we’re called to do, we can do,” Leonard said. “Kinda proved that the last couple games. We’ve had success. It just comes down to hard work and preparation.”
What’s been made clear through the first five games of the season is this offense will lean heavily on what Leonard legs and arm can or can’t do. Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff hopes might depend on him.
“We didn't have a lot of success in the second half, and I always say you’re going to blame the quarterback,” Freeman said. “That's what you do. You're supposed to. You're going to blame the head coach. That's what you're supposed to do. That’s why we’re in these positions.
“We’ll go back and see what decisions Riley made in the second half that weren't good. He played really well in the first half. Our whole entire offense didn't play great in the second half. It's easy to point the finger at Riley, but I'm proud of the way he performed today and led our offense to victory.”
---------------------------------------------------------------
• Talk with Notre Dame fans on The Insider Lounge.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, Podbean or Pocket Casts.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports channel on YouTube.
• Follow us on Twitter: @insideNDsports, @EHansenND and @TJamesND.
• Like us on Facebook: Inside ND Sports
• Follow us on Instagram: @insideNDsports
