As Louisville football’s opening match-up with Notre Dame approaches, those around the program should have their eye on improved effort and execution, and less on the scoreboard.
When Louisville football made the trip to South Bend, Indiana in 2014, the teams that met in Notre Dame Stadium were on two completely different trajectories.
Notre Dame was 7-3 on the season, but they were entering the match-up on a two-game losing streak, while Louisville was just getting the ball rolling for what would be an outstanding short stretch under Bobby Petrino in his second stint.
The Fighting Irish weren’t getting the results they wanted on the field, and they were amid a coaching and cultural overhaul that resulted in a 4-8 season only two years later- the same season that Louisville rose as high as No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings, reeling in their first Heisman Trophy in the process.
Still, the results were more than thrilling for Louisville fans, given the history of the two programs in their first-ever meeting.
This was Notre Dame after all. The most storied program in college athletics. 13 national championships, 86 consensus All-Americans, and one of the richest traditions across any sports landscape defined a squad that lined up against a team that shared an astroturf field with a minor league baseball team less than two decades prior.
Regardless of the season, a win for Louisville in that stadium against that team with their first ever crack at it is going to hold up as one of the program’s finest. In a town with a massive Catholic population, many of whom grew up dreaming of attending Notre Dame, the win was extra special.
A changing of the tide
Fast forward five years and the tides have turned.
Remember that cultural overhaul up north? It is more than complete. The Irish are fresh off their first undefeated regular season since 1988, and their second-ever college football playoff appearance.
Notre Dame enters the game led by Brian Kelly- the winningest active head coach in the game- and Heisman Trophy contender Ian Book. They are once again expected to compete for a spot in the college football playoffs.
Louisville is a big-time underdog at home, and though Cards fans looked forward to the rematch as their squad was on the up and up, the excitement around the program is tempered for the moment.
First-year head coach Scott Satterfield has built a talented staff that he and his players are comfortable around, and the team will feature a number of JUCO and graduate transfers that can supplement some expected losses with every coaching change.
Building momentum
Still, regardless of national, or even local, expectations, Louisville football still has a fantastic opportunity during their Labor Day match-up.
Louisville-Notre Dame will be the only game, college or pro, on for the entire day, drawing the eyes of a football-hungry nation on a national holiday. Perhaps if the Cardinals could keep things interesting throughout, they could impress a number of different important people.
Firstly, there’s a chance that Louisville can gain some dire-needed momentum to gear up for a daunting schedule. Given that the Cards haven’t kept a game within a touchdown since September of 2018, even pushing the Irish and taking them out of their comfort zone could prove beneficial.
Secondly, Louisville could draw the attention of the nation and earn some respect nationally. The coaching staff is trying to gain some traction on the recruiting trail, and what better way to do so than to play poised on the biggest stage in week one.
A for effort?
As with anything in life, no one should be accepting of moral victories. A loss is a loss, and though fans will be disappointed with any game that doesn’t see their team come out on top, maybe they should take solace if improvements are seen in certain areas.
In 2018, by seasons end, Louisville’s losses were due to poor coaching and team chemistry. However, the way the Cards were losing was due to a lack of heart and effort. Teams with the amount of talent that Louisville possesses don’t give up 56 points to Wake Forest and 66 to Georgia Tech. A team that won the ACC regular-season title in 2016 doesn’t all-of-a-sudden go winless in conference in 2018.
There are a lot of effort plays that, simply by giving 100 percent, will keep things closer for the Cards in 2019.
Unessecary penalties, blown assignments, and costly turnovers can all be limited with better focus and discipline.
Those are the things that Louisville fans should be watching for. If the Cards can nail down the basics, the talent and coaching is there. Now, it’s simply a matter of putting everything together and improving game-by-game.
Louisville football has a chance to make a huge statement on Monday night, and it won’t take a W on the scoreboard to do so.