Three players to watch for Louisville football vs. Notre Dame

The Louisville football team is getting ready for what could be their toughest game of the season. They have to travel to South Bend and take on Notre Dame. Before the season started, this looked like it was going to be the hardest game for them to win. It still might be.

This is definitely their toughest road game. Notre Dame's season is on life support after they lost to Northern Illinois at home. They can't afford another loss, especially at home. Since they can't win a conference to get an automatic CFP bid, they have to bank on getting an at-large bid.

Meanwhile, the Louisville Cardinals are ready to show that they should be the favorite to win the ACC. Winning this game would show that they should indeed be favored. Losing this game doesn't end Louisville's chances at making the College Football Playoff. Winning it would give them a lot of wiggle room.

There are three players who will likely decide the fate of this game. For some dumb reason, this game is strictly on Peacock, which means it will be much harder to watch. Still, these are three players to watch for this game because they will be big stories in how this game plays out.

The first player on this list is the quarterback for the Louisville Cardinals.

1. Tyler Shough

Tyler Shough has been really good so far for the Cardinals. Shough showed last week against Georgia Tech that Louisville can win games strictly with the passing game, something they weren't sure that they could do. After a poor rushing performance, Shough led the way with 269 yards and two touchdowns.

Shough has been able to stay healthy, which was always his biggest problem. He always played well early in his previous seasons, but he would get hurt right before he started to really get going. He hasn't taken any big hits this season, so he's been able to stay healthy.

Perhaps the best thing that Shough has done, besides staying healthy, has been not turning the ball over. He has not thrown a single interception this year and he has eight touchdown passes. He has to protect the ball in this game. Notre Dame has struggled to go the length of the field on offense. Giving them a short field is a great way to lose.

Notre Dame's top priority is going to be stopping the run. Louisville is going to have to trust Shough to go out there and make plays. There will likely be a few times that they will have to convert third-and-medium or third-and-long. Shough is going to have to come through in those situations.

We don't know yet if Caullin Lacy is going to make his Louisville debut for this game. Adding him would give the Cardinals another great weapon to throw to. Ja'Corey Brooks has been Shough's top target so far. He will be for this game too, but Lacy would certainly help them.

The next player to watch for this game is the quarterback for the Fighting Irish.