3 predictions for Louisville football vs. Notre Dame

Presley Meyer: Louisville sacks Notre Dame multiple times

On the outset, this prediction might not seem super bold, even for Louisville football. However, Notre Dame is stout along the offensive line.

The Irish have allowed only three sacks through three games while, for perspective, the Cardinals have allowed 14 sacks through four games.

While Louisville’s offensive line has underperformed a bit, that still puts into perspective how solid the Irish is in pass protection.

What many may not realize is that Louisville has faced some decent offensive lines thus far.

Louisville’s last opponent, Georgia Tech, has only allowed two sacks through four games. Pitt has allowed nine sacks through five games; Miami has allowed eight sacks through four games; Western Kentucky has also surrendered only eight sacks through four match-ups- Three of which we’re against UofL.

All of this is not to say that Louisville has faced a murders row of offensive lines, but the Cardinals have only faced teams in the top 40 percent of the country in sacks allowed per game.

I believe it’s important to note that while Louisville football has struggled to get home on pass rushes and create pressure, the Cardinals have faced some teams who specialize in preventing just that from happening.

Does that automatically mean Louisville is going to step up and be world beaters against Notre Dame? Of course not. But let’s not act like UofL has faced some trash teams either.

I’d look for defensive coordinators Bryan Brown and Cort Dennison to dial up some creative stuff that the Fighting Irish haven’t seen before. Let’s not forget that Louisville’s unique 3-4 defense could cause havoc early simply because they give offenses looks that are rarely seen on the power five level.

Louisville has not seen much production from Monty Montgomery, Yaya Diaby, and Yasir Abdullah in the last two games. I think that changes against Notre Dame as the Cardinals try to make Ian Book uncomfortable early.