Notre Dame Football: 3 reasons the Irish will beat Louisville in Week 7

Notre Dame football hosts Louisville on Saturday afternoon in what could end up being an upset special. But here’s why the Irish will win.

Notre Dame has gotten off to a 3-0 start this season but there’s reason to believe that it’s kind of a deceiving record based on the quality of competition.

That will all change in Week 7.

Sure, Louisville is just 1-3 coming to South Bend, but the Cardinals were one of the preseason favorites to contend in the ACC. Louisville has plenty of talent on the offensive side of the ball, led by Malik Cunningham at quarterback. Tutu Atwell is one of the best receivers in the nation and Javian Hawkins is an elite rusher.

Defense is the only thing holding this Louisville team back and that might be the difference in this matchup.

Why will the Irish beat Louisville in Week 7?

3. Notre Dame has the veteran quarterback

While I do believe Malik Cunningham is a solid quarterback and one of the better dual-threats in the ACC, Notre Dame having the veteran quarterback in a big game like this will be important.

Take Feleipe Franks with Arkansas for example. He traveled to a hostile road atmosphere in Auburn last weekend to face off against a talented sophomore in Bo Nix and the Tigers. While Nix may be the better and more talented quarterback but Franks had the veteran know-how for a hostile atmosphere in a tight game. We’ll see the same from Ian Book here.

Book is the veteran quarterback here and will be the difference on offense even if the Irish stick to the run game. His calm demeanor will keep the Irish grounded in a close game.