No. 25 Louisville Triumphs Over No. 10 Notre Dame 33-20; Jawhar Jordan Accumulates 143 Yards, Two Touchdowns

Jawhar Jordan delivered a season-best performance of 143 rushing yards, contributing two touchdowns from 45 and 21 yards out during back-to-back possessions in the latter half of the game. As a result, No. 25 Louisville emerged victorious over No. 10 Notre Dame with a 33-20 win on Saturday evening.

Enjoying their most successful opening in a decade with a 6-0 record, Louisville marked the occasion as a pivotal win for their first-year head coach and former Louisville standout, Jeff Brohm. The game drew a record-breaking attendance of 59,081 spectators at the stadium, many of whom took to the field to celebrate for over 15 minutes following the match’s conclusion.

“Our team recognized the significance of this game in the second half—not just for us, but also for the entire community and university. They worked diligently to secure the win,” commented Coach Brohm.

Struggling recently, Notre Dame (5-2) incurred their second loss in the last three games. The team had previously enjoyed a 30-game winning streak against Atlantic Coast Conference rivals, a streak that began in 2017.

The Fighting Irish briefly held the lead at 10-7 in the third quarter after converting a fumble forced by Cam Hart into a 53-yard field goal by Spencer Schrader. However, Louisville responded with Brock Travelstead’s 44-yard field goal, after which Jordan dominated with remarkable runs.

Jordan extended Amari Huggins-Bruce’s 19-yard sprint with a rapid dash through the right flank, eventually evading defenders near the 20-yard line for a go-ahead touchdown, bringing the score to 17-10. A 54-yard field goal from Schrader brought Notre Dame closer at 17-13, but Jordan countered with yet another significant run.

Accelerating swiftly in the early moments of the fourth quarter, Jordan secured his second touchdown, effectively pushing the lead to 24-13. Subsequently, Notre Dame failed to convert on downs, and Travelstead increased the lead with his third field goal—a 45-yard kick. He later sealed the game with another 35-yard field goal.

Just a week after managing only 36 rushing yards and no touchdowns against North Carolina State, Jordan ran 21 times, surpassing his previous season-high of 135 yards against Murray State and falling just two yards short of his career-best against arch-rival Kentucky the previous season.

Louisville initiated their scoring with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Jack Plummer to Jamari Thrash, set up by Quincy Riley’s interception of Sam Hartman’s pass. This ended Hartman’s strong initial run of 14 touchdowns without an interception, thus signaling a challenging night for him and the Irish, who finished with a total of 298 yards, far short of their average of 192 rushing yards per game.

Notre Dame’s head coach Marcus Freeman commented on the defensive prowess of Louisville, stating, “No team has exerted as much pressure on our quarterback as Louisville did. They effectively neutralized our running game, compelling us to rely on our passing game, which did not deliver as needed.”

Poll Implications

Following their second loss in three contests, Notre Dame is likely to descend in the rankings. Conversely, Louisville, which entered the rankings this week for the first time since early 2020, is expected to climb a few spots.

Key Takeaways

Notre Dame: The team’s inability to establish a ground game effectively made them one-dimensional. Hartman faced consistent pressure, mirroring his subpar performance during his last visit here with No. 10 Wake Forest—a game that concluded in a 48-21 defeat characterized by turnovers.

Louisville: Despite a mid-game slump allowing Notre Dame to briefly take the lead, the Cardinals turned to their strengths and secured what is arguably their most consequential victory since defeating Wake Forest and their quarterback Hartman.

Upcoming Games

Notre Dame will next host No. 9 Southern California on the upcoming Saturday, while Louisville will face Pittsburgh on the same day.

For more on college football, visit bigbignews.net/college-football and bigbignews.net/ap-top-25-college-football-poll.

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