On Monday evening, Notre Dame survived a scare from a much improved Louisville Cardinals team, who came out strong under the tutelage of new Head Coach, Scott Satterfield — formerly of FBS powerhouse Appalachian State. After Notre Dame scored quickly on a six play, 75 yard drive, Louisville answered with a 12 play, 88 yard scoring drive of their own, led by junior quarterback Jawon Pass.
The back-and-forth play would continue for the entirety of the first half, before Ian Book and the Irish capitalized on a sequence of back-to-back-to-back fumbles, where possession would change on three consecutive plays, ultimately leading to an Irish touchdown with 17 seconds left in the first half.