Notre Dame @ Louisville
September 2nd
Opening the season against a top-five opponent can be looked at in two ways.
One, coming into the season with a new coach and a new feel to the program with a ton of questions around the roster and future of Louisville football the staff and players will get to test themselves and see how far they’ve come and how far they have to go to reach being competitive again.
Notre Dame is a legit title contender and in the words of Chris Mack, “you can’t sharpen your teeth eating oatmeal.” For Louisville, getting a taste of what it looks like to be elite could help this young football team mentally lock in and prepare for the long season ahead while giving them something to measure up against.
Two, going against a top-five team in the first week of the season in a game that will likely be pretty lopsided could hurt the competitive fire of a team who may be emotionally scared underneath still from last season.
As our own Kyle Brown wrote this summer, Notre Dame is stacked all over the place both on offense and defense. They are led by a potential Heisman Trophy candidate in Ian Book, who was incredible after taking over as the starter last season, and have weapons surrounding him as well as a solid offensive line.
Defensively they have guys like Julian Okwara, who can get after the quarterback in a major way, which will present a big challenge for new offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford.
For Louisville, the key will be to come in focused and not be afraid of the moment. With the new Cardinal era getting underway, Cardinal Stadium will likely be sold out for the first time since the expansion last season and fans will be loud and rowdy. That can present some challenges of it’s own if the players are too emotional, or lack focus on what matters (the game).
I expect Satterfield to have the team ready and fired up to play and we’ll probably see a quarter and a half of competitive football before the overall size, athleticism, and talent wear on the Cards.
Seeing how the players handle being down 14-plus points will be big for all of us who watched the 2018 team lay down at the slightest bit of opposition.
Prediction: Notre Dame 38, Louisville 21
Louisville record: 0-1