Louisville vs. Notre Dame is a top-25 matchup between two College Football Playoff hopefuls currently on the outside looking in.
Lousiville is 3-0 in 2024, fresh off a convincing win over ACC foe Georgia Tech in Week 4. Notre Dame comes into this matchup 3-1 after slowly pulling away from Miami (OH) in what was another sluggish offensive performance. Notre Dame led 14-3 at the half and could only add two more touchdowns in the second half.
Who wins when the Cardinals and Fighting Irish collide in Week 5? Our Louisville vs. Notre Dame prediction holds the answer.
Louisville vs Notre Dame Betting Preview
All Louisville vs. Notre Dame odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook and are correct as of Sunday, Sept. 22.
- Spread
Notre Dame -6.5 - Moneyline
Louisville +200, Notre Dame -245 - Over/Under
45 points - Game Time
3:30 p.m. ET - Location
Notre Dame Stadium | South Bend, Ind. - Predicted Weather at Kick
78 degrees, partly cloudy - How To Watch
Peacock
Notre Dame opened as a nearly double-digit favorite when this line opened at -9.5. But that number has fallen, crossing a few key numbers to where it now sits at -6.5. The total has seen minimal movement as it opened at 48.5 and now sits at 45.
MORE: CFN Betting Parlay Calculator
Notre Dame comes into this matchup 2-2 against the spread, failing to cover -27.5 last week against Miami-Ohio and suffering an embarrassing home loss to Northern Illinois as -28 favorites.
Lousiville enters this marquee showdown 3-0 against the spread, with two of their three games in 2024 going over the total.
Prediction for Lousiville vs. Notre Dame
For me, the key to this one is in the interior. It comes down to Lousiville’s ability to hold up against a very good Notre Dame front and pass rush. If given time, Shough has shown that he can pick opposing defenses apart. So, it will be a huge key if Lousiville can keep him upright on Saturday.
When it comes to this Notre Dame passing attack, there is absolutely nothing threatening about it whatsoever. While they did rush for 270 yards last week against Miami, they will need more to keep up with this Lousiville offense.
Though it’s not against the best opponents, Louisville comes in with the 28th-ranked defense against the run in 2024. That includes holding a solid Georgia Tech rushing attack under 100 yards last week.
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I don’t love this matchup for Notre Dame. Could they dominate the line of scrimmage, run all over Louisville without relying on the passing attack, and control the time of possession while making life challenging on Shough with a great pass rush? It’s not out of the realm of possibilities.
But I think Lousiville will eventually figure out a way to move the ball on the Irish and get in the endzone. That will force Leonard and this Irish offense to make some plays in the air. And they haven’t shown they can do that consistently yet in 2024.
This feels like it could follow the game script of last year’s matchup between these two squads. It was a good defensive battle at first and went into the half at 7-7. Louisville came out of the break and ran all over the Irish, scoring 26 second-half points while rushing for 195 yards on their way to a 33-20 victory.
I think Louisville will win this outright again.
Prediction: Louisville 23, Notre Dame 17
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