Ranking Louisville football’s 2020 schedule by match-up intrigue

1. at Notre Dame

November 21st

If you break down Louisville’s 2019 and 2020 schedules, they stack up pretty similarly.

There are the teams Louisville should beat: The WKU’s, EKU’s, Murray State’s, of the world.

There’s the in-between teams: Syracuse, Wake Forest, Boston College, Miami, etc.

And then, there are the two teams that perhaps the Cardinals have no business beating: Clemson and Notre Dame.

Both the Tigers and the Fighting Irish are superior recruiting schools, they have long-standing traditions, amazing fan bases, multiple national titles, and hall of fame coaches. They are the definition of traditional blue bloods. Winning is expected there, and they don’t place themselves on the same level as Louisville.

But, while Clemson feels like that team every year that is just untouchable (the Cardinals are 0-6 against the Tigers since joining the ACC), the same can’t quite be said of Notre Dame.

The Irish made the College Football Playoffs two seasons ago and were ultimately eliminated by Clemson ironically enough. And last season saw the Irish finish an impressive 11-2 with losses only coming to Michigan and Georgia.

Still, they don’t have that same “untouchable” feeling or quality around them like they did for three or four decades.

In 2014, Louisville went into South Bend and got a win, and last season, the Cardinals went toe-to-toe with the Irish in a season opener on the heels of a 2-10 season.

Notre Dame is obviously still the more talented team, but it doesn’t feel like Louisville will be afraid of going to South Bend.

It’s a game that will have serious implications on and off the field. Catholic roots run deep in the city of Louisville, and Cardinals fans are likely to bring thousands of fans once again to Notre Dame Stadium. For many, when Louisville’s football program was an afterthought decades ago, Notre Dame was the local team many cheered for. But now that their hometown team has surfaced as a power five contender over the past two decades, it has been fun coming together of two teams, two fan bases, and two traditions that have nothing but the utmost respect for each other.

On the field, Notre Dame is likely to be vying for national respect. The Irish have two real tests vs Wisconsin at Lambeau Field and hosting Clemson early in November.

If the Irish win one of those games, they are almost certain to be in the playoff conversation once again.

Perhaps the same can be said of Louisville. Though there are plenty of uncertainties around this team, its not crazy to think the Cardinals could travel to Notre Dame as a highly-ranked squad.

And if the stakes are high, this could be among the most intriguing games the Cardinals will play in years.