For the past two weeks, we have talked about Notre Dame still not deserving a playoff spot. Despite impressive wins against Purdue and Miami of Ohio, there’s still the loss to Northern Illinois. If anything, the wins only made the NIU game look worse. The only way Notre Dame was getting back into the playoff conversation was with another quality win. Thankfully for Irish fans, they got that win when they beat No. 15 Louisville 31-24.
The victory makes Notre Dame’s resume a lot stronger. They had a good win against Texas A&M, but it wasn’t strong enough to counteract the NIU loss. It was so bad that it overshadowed everything else the Irish have done. Without another statement win, NIU could have single-handedly prevented Notre Dame from making the 12-team playoffs.
The Louisville game gave the Irish their second win against a ranked opponent. Now it’s easier to call the NIU game a fluke. It looks more like an outlier than an indictment of Notre. Dame. But there’s a long way to go. They still need to win out if they want to get into the playoffs. The Irish’s fourth win was a step toward salvaging the season.
Finally, A Good Passing Attack
The offense’s main criticism has been the inability to get the passing game going. Notre Dame has emphasized the running game, which has produced good results in the past couple of weeks, but that was because of the opponents’ lack of talent. When it’s time to play bigger, better schools, the rush won’t work as well. You need to be able to score quickly, so if you fall behind by multiple scores, you can rebound quickly too.
After weeks of waiting, Notre Dame finally produced through the air. Quarterback Riley Leonard completed 17 of 23 passing attempts for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns. It’s the first time he’s thrown multiple touchdowns in his Irish career. It’s not the strongest stat line, but it shows improvement. Leonard is getting better, and he’s trusting his arm again — an idea that many Notre Dame fans had abandoned.
Leonard still needs to progress to build a better passing attack. But there is hope again that he can be a reliable passer. He can still be the dynamic dual-threat quarterback from the Duke days, the type of quarterback the Irish have been missing for years.
Secondary Depth Steps Up
One of Notre Dame’s biggest positives has been the secondary’s performance. They have had early-season success in large part because of the secondary’s capabilities. With stars like Xavier Watts and Benjamin Morrison, it’s easy to see why they were seen as a top-five unit. With Morrison and starting corner Christian Gray both banged up, there were questions if the secondary would be as dominant.
Notre Dame’s depth was able to step up and continue its secondary dominance. Both transfer Jordan Clark and Rod Heard did a great job in pass coverage. They locked up Louisville’s key receivers. They also made crucial plays on third and fourth down, which suffocated Lousiville’s offense and gave it back to Notre Dame.
Notre Dame’s second-string secondary makes their defense better and deeper. They don’t have to rely on just Watts and Morrison. The secondary and entire defense’s success isn’t just dependent on them. They have multiple more-than-capable backups that can rise to the occasion and keep the defense playing at a high level.
Brian Germinaro is a sportswriter for Belly Up Sports. Follow him on Twitter/X for more sports coverage and Belly Up Sports for even more college football content. Feature image credit: Michael Reaves.
