Notre Dame football: 3 Takeaways from upset loss to #25 Louisville.

Sep 16, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman leads his players onto the field for the game against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 16, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman leads his players onto the field for the game against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Notre Dame Football
Oct 7, 2023; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Sam Hartman (10) attempts to throw deep against the Louisville Cardinals during the first half at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports /

Notre Dame Football’s defense played well.

The offense kept putting the defense in poor positions all game until the damn finally broke open. Notre Dame couldn’t turn field position, and Louisville’s offense consistently had short fields to operate. The passing defense did not allow any explosive plays. The Cardinals did not have a pass play over 20 yards.

Notre Dame’s run defense wasn’t bad despite allowing Jahwar Jordan to run for 143 yards. Jordan got 45 of those yards on one touchdown run. The one caveat is that Louisville did not have to go on long drives to score points. The defensive effort was there, but it’s hard not to give up points when defending in plus territory most of the night.

Louisville executed almost perfectly defensively.

The Cardinals’ game plan was simple: play a heavy box and make Notre Dame beat man coverage. Louisville defensive coordinator Mark English bet they could get to quarterback Sam Hartman before the receivers could get open, and his wager paid off. Hartman had no time to throw and was sacked five times.

The heavy box prevented Notre Dame football from running the football effectively. The Irish had two runs over ten yards, and Audric Estime’s longest run was six yards.