Notre Dame Football: Louisville Cardinals Q&A with Card Chronicle

Let’s chat with a dear old friend about the opponent in this game that will make or break ND’s 2024 season

Friends, it’s somehow Thursday once again, which means we’re just a couple days away from yet another Notre Dame Fighting Irish football game. And this one, y’all, is a pretty big one.

Your 3-1, 16th-ranked Irish are playing host to the #15, undefeated Louisville Cardinals in a matchup that will make or break Notre Dame’s fragile chances of making the College Football Playoff. That Northern Illinois loss 3 weeks ago immediately created a situation where ND would likely need to win out and go 11-1 on the year, and looking at the remaining 8 games, this contest with Jeff Brohm’s program is easily the toughest test left on the schedule.

So, in order to prepare ourselves as fans for this one (especially considering how unprepared we all were for last year’s shellacking at the hands of the Cardinals), I reached out to LONGTIME friend of the OFD Q&A program, John Powell AKA CardinalStrong. CardinalStrong writes for Card Chronicle, SB Nation’s go-to hub for all things Louisville sports, and this is his 4th time answering all our off-the-wall questions, so you know he’s either a great dude, or just a glutton for answering weird questions emailed to him by a weird guy.

Either way, he’s once again provided us an excellent look into the Cardinals as an opponent while also providing plenty of fun and funny responses to those lovely FAN QUESTIONS we crowdsource from you guys on Twitter. So, let’s go ahead and jump into it — here’s everything you need to know for this huge matchup!

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1. After a nearly 0.500 record from Scott Satterfield in his Louisville tenure, Jeff Brohm has come in and seemingly completely altered the direction of the program, almost immediately.

What’s he done differently, how’s he changed things so quickly, and what do you think the ceiling is for this Cardinals program with him in charge?

CardinalStrong, Card Chronicle: As you can imagine I’ve been asked this question in a variety of ways over the last couple seasons and I think it really comes down to a few factors. First, this is his city and his school. His family is unofficial royalty around here as both he and his brothers (Brian/Greg) played football for Louisville, and his father (Oscar) has been a part of the Louisville football community for decades as a mentor and coach. All three brothers played at Trinity High School here in Louisville, and are recognized as hometown heroes in many regards. That alone means nothing, but couple it with a great football mind and you have a guy passionate about the city, the university, who wants the program to reach its pinnacle and has the skillset to make it happen.

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Secondly, it’s how he attacked the challenge. I think most fans would have given him some rope to have a 7-5 season or 8-4 year to get settled in, but he aggressively attacked the portal behind the NIL collective and financial support of an newly energized fanbase and by nearly all metrics ended up with the #1 or #2 portal class both in 2023 and 2024. His “win now” mentality said we can plug holes via the portal and get talent in here we likely can’t via the traditional high school recruiting approach. Having a mix of guys who are being bred into the program as underclassmen and a significant number of guys with three or four years of Division-I college football experience means there isn’t much that will surprise them, and they have a fire to win now, before their collegiate careers come to an end.

What does it take to win championships? Good coaching, good play calling, experienced personnel, and guys who don’t crumble under pressure. I think he’s got all the ingredients, it’s just finding the right mix to get over the hill.

2. New Cardinals QB Tyler Shough has had a great start to the year — what does he do well, what are the weak spots in his game, and how can the Irish defense limit him and/or shut him down this weekend?

CardinalStrong, Card Chronicle: If we are judging off 2024 alone, the guy is playing near perfect football. He’s hovering around a 70% completion percentage, averaging a tick over eleven yards per attempt, and has eight touchdowns and zero interceptions. His QBR of 197.11 is 6th best nationally, but when you toss out the guys with less than 60 attempts, he’s 3rd. Not sure he could have drawn up a better start.

Now, if I scroll my mouse wheel down a bit and zoom out to see the rest of his career, there are concerns about ball security, as he had 17 interceptions over 22 games the last four years. There are also concerns about durability as he has had two collar bone injuries and a broken fibula the last four years as well. The difference so far, with limited sample size, is that Brohm is asking him to be mobile far less than he was in seasons past, and he is not asking him to be a savior week in and week out with thirty plus throws.

Louisville had two running backs drafted last year in Jawhar Jordan (you guys should remember him) and Isaac Guerendo. The offense really worked through the run game. The plan this year with four legitimate backs as options was to do something similar and let Shough hit the easy stuff and take some shots as a result of what the ground game opened up.

Now last week, GT did a great job limiting the run, but Louisville took advantage of that aggressiveness and beat them up a bit in the short yardage passes. With starting back Maurice Turner out, the Cards leaned on Miami transfer Don Chaney and freshman Isaac Brown to carry the load. I’d expect them to be 1 and 1A this week as well to help Shough stay balanced.

If you can get to him (Louisville has allowed 2 sacks this year) I do think he may feel pressured and that internal clock starts to shrink. Maybe that creates a situation where he forces throws and it results in turnovers, we just haven’t seen that yet in 2024.

3. What Louisville skill position guys could give Al Golden’s defense trouble on Saturday?

Also, will the Cardinals offensive line get the push/protection Jeff Brohm needs from them in order to successfully get those skill guys the ball with a chance to make big plays?

CardinalStrong, Card Chronicle: I would keep an eye on Ja’Corey Brooks. The Alabama transfer has been Shough’s favorite target and has shown some ball skills that may put his highlight video behind a NSFW paywall. He has good speed, he has nice length, but he also has a great ability to track the ball, even if he’s getting turned around backwards during the play.

If Brooks is covered up, Chris Bell has been a great option as well, acting as a smaller tight end with good size and good speed. Speaking of tight ends, Brohm loves to keep them involved in the offense and this may be a candidate for a breakout game for TE Mark Redman, a transfer from San Diego State. The big man only has three receptions so far, but two of them are for touchdowns. I think either him or TE Jamari Johnson can help spread the defense this week. Also, don’t sleep on freshman RB Isaac Brown who has dangerous speed, but is still learning the playbook.

The O-line has played well but not great. Only allowing 2 sacks and 9 TFL total so far in 2024 is impressive, but allowing the Georgia Tech D-line to get repeated penetration last week is a bit worrisome, as they only posted a 2.11yd/att average on 27 attempts. Brohm tried to get the run game going with screens and plays in the flats but didn’t have much luck. I think ND will likely start the game looking to mirror that gameplan and play more guys up tight in the box to limit what happened in 2023.

4. The Louisville defense DOMINATED the Irish in last year’s matchup (5 sacks, 3 INTs, etc.). Has the Cardinals defense changed much in terms of personnel vs. last year? Who are the names to know on that side of the ball, and do you think they’ll find the same level of success this year against a highly one-dimensional Irish offense that has plenty of talent but hasn’t put it all together quite yet?

CardinalStrong, Card Chronicle: How’s “yes and no” for an answer? While there was a fair amount of turnover on defense, a few of the guys to worry about are the same as 2023. On the line Ashton Gillotte is an every down threat to get into the backfield, but since most teams pay coaches millions of dollars to find out this information, he gets doubled often, and a few other guys have eaten off the plate while he occupies the guard dogs. Tramel Logan is a USF transfer who has 3 sacks and a forced fumble already, and Rene Konga is a Rutgers transfer who has done a great job plugging up the middle of the line.

In the secondary, Quincy Riley (another potential familiar name) is back to his old tricks with an interception already, a couple pass breakups, and forced fumble that resulted in a TD last week. Mostly teams just avoid him though, which is probably a good strategy. Keep an eye on Riley this week though, as he is 50/50 if he can go, nursing an injury.

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5. FAN QUESTION:

CardinalStrong, Card Chronicle: They call Louisville the world’s biggest small town, so while I may not know him personally I bet five bucks I can find someone who does within the hour, especially if I know what high school he went to.

Also, high probability he worked at UPS, Humana, or GE at some point in his life if he’s lived here since birth.

6. FAN QUESTION:

CardinalStrong, Card Chronicle: Oh my short sighted friend. I fear you are merely playing checkers while Mr. Brohm is playing chess. The Hawk, as everyone knows, is the official state bird of the state of New Hampshire, and one does not simply go to New Hampshire without driving the world renowned Kamcanagus Scenic Highway.

Who is Kamcanagus you may ask? He was only one of the most notable leaders of the Pennacook people, and his name is translated as “The Fearless One”. Ever seen Jeff Brohm’s playcalling? His 100% success rate on 4th downs this year? No fear detected my friend. He doesn’t denounce, he dominates. Chess, not checkers.

7. FAN QUESTION:

CardinalStrong, Card Chronicle: It’s a little embarrassing to have to type this out but…they’re not real. Nope. Dentures.

Had an incident with an owl back in ‘63, feathers lost, crest ruffled, and a complete masacre of his OG chompers. Had to go full synthetic with a Poligrip combo since LBJ was running the show. Damn shame.

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8. FAN QUESTION:

CardinalStrong, Card Chronicle: There’s only one real answer here. Negative two bottles.

I’m searching junk drawers, hitting up coin laundry spots, checking vending machines, and starting a GoFundMe to get those two years of my life back. Whatever the cost. It was THE WORST fandom experience of my near middle-aged life.

Sure, during that time I grew much closer to my wife and developed a kinship with my children I’ve never experienced before ignoring all those basketball games, but let’s stay focused on the main thing….we need some good basketball, fast.

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9. FAN QUESTION Stealing The Thunder of My Typical Final Question:

My Typical Final Question: Alright, let’s get down to it — who wins, what’s the final score, and give your reasoning how/why that will happen.

CardinalStrong, Card Chronicle: Last year there was an underlying level of confidence in Louisville, knowing Notre Dame had a good team, but the man running the show (Hartman) had visited Louisville the year before with a Top 10 Wake Forest team and left seeing ghosts, after throwing 3 interceptions, giving up 3 fumbles, and lost by 27 points to an unranked Louisville defense. The jersey and the supporting cast may have changed but the lead actor was coming back to the scene of the crime. Hartman may never return to Louisville as last year his encore included 3 interceptions, 2 fumbles, and again his Top 10 team losing by double digits.

Fast forward to 2024 and the man leading the charge for Notre Dame (Leonard) didn’t fare very well against the Cards last season either. The Top 20 Blue Devil team hung a goose egg against the Cards and Riley chipped in an interception and a fumble in the 23-0 beatdown. Does history repeat itself again, even though this one is on the road? I think yes. I think Riley struggles with throwing the ball, the Cards Top 20 rushing defense holds the wall well enough, and the Cards steal one late, sneaking out in the shadows of Knute Rockne with a 24-17 victory.

While certainly lacking in overall prestige, the Louisville program is 2-2 against Notre Dame and is one year removed from a drubbing. I feel like Kevin McAllister as he walks out the front door and shouts “I’m not afraid anymore”…another Saturday, another opportunity to move up the ladder. As the great Happy Gilmore once said….Gold jerseys, green jerseys…who gives a crap. Cards win.

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Alright friends, that’s it for this week. I of course need to give a massive shout-out to CardinalStrong for his typical fantastic slate of responses to all our inquiries. I encourage you all to head over to Card Chronicle to check out all the great content and coverage they’ve got for this matchup — they’re doing exceptional work over there and have been for a long time, to be honest.

Also, I highly recommend you give both CardinalStrong and the Card Chronicle site account (AKA Mike Rutherford) some follows on Twitter. They’re truly hilarious and entertaining follows not just for Louisville coverage but also just for college football commentary and entertainment in general — you will NOT regret adding them to your feed.

Finally, CardinalStrong has a series on YouTube where he humorously breaks down a play from the week prior — I enjoy these immensely and you can see an example here from the ND/Louisville game in 2023. Definitely worth checking out, both right now and next week after this game is done (hopefully he will be breaking down a positive play for the Irish).

With that all said, that’s all we have for this week — per usual, GO IRISH, BEAT CARDINALS!!!