Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2019 57 BY BRYAN DRISKELL LOUISVILLE RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE First-year Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield likes to run the football. In 2018, his Appalachian State squad ranked 14th nationally in rushing yards per game (240.4). There is a long way to go to get the Louisville ground game that productive. The Cardinals ranked just 102nd nationally (141.5 yards per game) in rushing offense last fall. If there is to be a positive taken from Louisville's ground attack in 2018, it is that the Cardinals fin- ished on a high note by averaging 227.7 yards per game in the final three contests against Syracuse, North Carolina State and Kentucky. That success was fueled by the emergence of athletic quarterback Malik Cunningham, who rushed for 253 yards in the final three games and led the Cardinals with 497 yards on the season. The bad news for Louisville is that reports from camp are that the redshirt sophomore likely won't be healthy at the start of the season. Louisville returns just two starting offensive line- men, but one is junior Mekhi Becton, a massive (6-7, 369) blocker that was named a preseason second-team All-American by Street & Smith's. Notre Dame was a solid run-stopping unit last season, but improvement is needed. The Irish ranked 36th in yards allowed per game (139.5) and 39th in yards surrendered per rush (3.8). The Irish will have to replace All-American defen- sive tackle Jerry Tillery and standout linebackers Drue Tranquill and Te'von Coney. Notre Dame is the only team in America with three returning ends — seniors Daelin Hayes, Ju- lian Okwara, Khalid Kareem — that ranked among the top 30 nationally in run-stop rate according to Pro Football Focus, and the Irish are one of just three teams to return a pair of top-15 safeties (seniors Jalen Elliott and Alohi Gilman). Advantage: Notre Dame LOUISVILLE PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE The Cardinals had a dreadful passing attack last season, while Notre Dame featured one of the na- tion's best aerial defenses. The Cardinals ranked 89th in passing yards per game (211.1), 107th in yards per attempt (6.4), 111th in interceptions thrown (15), 112th in com- pletion percentage (53.3), 118th in touchdown passes (10) and 122nd in pass efficiency (108.07). Redshirt junior Jawon Pass struggled in his first season as a starter, throwing just eight touch- downs with 12 interceptions. With Cunningham On PaPer Street & Smith's tabbed 6-7, 369-pound junior left tackle Mekhi Becton as a preseason second- team All-American. PHOTO COURTESY LOUISVILLE GAME PREVIEW: LOUISVILLE