Notre Dame football: 3 bold predictions vs. Louisville in Week 6

The 10th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-1) and the 25th-ranked Louisville Cardinals square off this weekend in a tremendously important game for both teams. Notre Dame football is looking to humbly uphold its College Football Playoff hopes, and the Cardinals are looking for the first prominent win of the Jeff Brohm era.

After rolling through its first four games, the No. 10 Fighting Irish have played back-to-back nail-biters, losing to Ohio State, 17-14, two weeks ago and overpowering Duke, 21-14, the prior week. Both games have highlighted touchdowns in the final 35 seconds to deliver the winning team the victory.

The Irish get a third-straight ranked foe this week when they journey to Louisville. It’s another undefeated opponent for Notre Dame football, as Louisville enters with a 5-0 record. All but one of the Irish’s opponents this year have been unbeaten when encountering them.

The Cardinals progressed to 5-0 for the first time since 2013 with a 13-10 victory over NC State on Friday night. Louisville’s 3-0 conference record is the finest since 2012. With the victory, the Cardinals are 3-0 in the ACC for the first time in school history. Led by its uncharitable defense, the Cardinals allowed merely 201 yards of offense and restricted NC State to 3-of-15 on third down to forge its sixth-straight win going back to last season.

Louisville is underwhelming, 5-0, and their 33rd-ranked rush is glaring. You see that their defensive yards allowed is 318.8 which is 44th in the FBS, and you’re like, “Okay, wow, they’re outstanding,” as you would say for any team that is 5-0 at this time, and then you see their very pedestrian schedule.

Georgia Tech, where they barely scratched out a win. Murray State, Indiana, where the offense struggled to put up 14 points; Boston College, where they played their best game; and NC State, where they rushed for 29 yards on 20 carries against a team struggling to find its identity.

I will say about Louisville: they have a very underrated defensive secondary, and their offense is one of the best in the country at this stage of the season. Louisville rushed for at least 184 yards in each of its first four games, and the offense averaged 237.3 yards per game on the ground and scored 43 points per game during that stretch. The one offensive weapon that will be integral if they plan on defeating Notre Dame football is Jawhar Jordan. He leads the ACC in rushing and is a receiving weapon out of the backfield.

Now, let’s get bold!

3. Notre Dame will score 30+ points

The Irish offense has been less efficient the past couple of weeks against better competition. After averaging 46 points scored in its first four games, Notre Dame football has combined to score 35 against Ohio State and Duke.

Even with the battles, Irish quarterback Sam Hartman has endured and been mistake-free, now throwing 145 passes without an interception. If Hartman would have had mistakes against Duke, they could have easily lost that game, as the offense struggled enough to get scores.

Hartman has uncovered a unique favorite target in the past two weeks in tight end Mitchell Evans. The junior has 209 of his 272 receiving yards in the last two games, incorporating six catches for 134 yards against Duke. Evans’ production has been critical, as long-term injuries to wide receivers Deion Colzie and Matt Salerno and needing Jaden Greathouse and Jayden Thomas last week have restricted Hartman’s passing options.

Audric Estime leads the nation in rushing yards with 682 yards on 95 carries and seven touchdowns. The offense runs through him and will continue to run through him. Do not expect Sam Hartman to throw the ball 50 times a game; that is not Notre Dame football. The Irish have a power running scheme that opens up the pass. The newly discovered weapon in the form of junior tight end Mitchell Evans will open up the passing game even more. Expect a methodical offensive game plan with a ton of offensive production.