In Brian Kelly’s 10th season opener at Notre Dame, the Irish traveled to Cardinal Stadium in Louisville as 18-point favorites and matched the oddsmakers’ assessment with a 35-17 win. The victory didn’t come easy, but the bottom line was that Notre Dame’s regular season winning streak was extended to 13 games.
Getting the season off on the right note against a team coming off a 2-10 season in 2018 was a necessity with much more challenging opponents on the schedule in the weeks ahead. The win won’t have much of an impact when it comes to the national polls, but it was certainly better than the alternative:
Below are some of the aspects of the game that stood out:
First Quarter Fireworks
The Irish wasted no time after starting the game at their own 25.