Jeff Brohm no longer unbeaten

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame’s iconic golden helmets were flashier than anything the 14th-ranked Fighting Irish and 17^th-ranked Louisville football team did on the field Saturday.

The teams combined for five turnovers in the first half, the first of which came on the opening kickoff. Notre Dame had fewer mistakes than Louisville and went on to a 31-24 victory, handing the Cardinals (3-1) their first loss of the season.

After trailing 21-7 in the first quarter, the Cardinals attempted a comeback in the fourth and outscored the Fighting Irish, 10-7. That included Brock Travelstead’s school-record 56-yard field goal to narrow the score, 24-17, in the fourth quarter. But it wasn’t enough to fully erase the deficit and nullify the self-inflicted errors.

Notre Dame (4-1) now leads the series, 3-2, picking up a win in a game that had the most College Football Playoff implications of any Week 5 contest, according to ESPN.

Louisville, which needed a resume-building win the most, currently only has two more top-25 opponents on its schedule. The Cardinals host ninth-ranked Miami, who survived a scare against Virginia Tech, on Oct. 19 then go to 15^th-ranked Clemson on Nov. 2.

It didn’t help that both teams have been affected by injuries. The Cardinals were missing three starters: wide receiver Jadon Thompson, who is out for the season, running back Maurice Turner and cornerback Quincy Riley, who had never missed a game in his three years as a Cardinal.

But receiver Caullin Lacy made his debut for U of L earlier than expected after missing the first three games with a broken collarbone, and freshman running back Isaac Brown got his first collegiate start. Corey Thornton returned to his starting cornerback position after getting benched against Georgia Tech, and Tayon Holloway replaced Riley.

Louisville did well in deferring until the second half after winning the coin toss and ended up with the ball first anyway: Tamarion McDonald recovered Notre Dame’s fumble on the opening kickoff. The Cardinals needed only three plays for quarterback Tyler Shough to find Brown in the end zone for the 10-yard touchdown.

The momentum U of L started with burned out quickly as the mistakes piled up, resulting in a 21-7 Notre Dame lead after the first quarter.

The Cardinals cut down on their penalties from a week ago but had more turnovers against Notre Dame (3) than they had against their previous three opponents.

The excitement of a 46-yard run from Shough was quickly deflated when he fumbled the ball. On the ensuing drive, busted coverage allowed Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard to complete a 34-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jaden Greathouse for the home team’s 14-7 lead at the 4:59 mark of the first quarter.

A quarter later, U of L receiver Ja’Corey Brooks bobbled a pass and cornerback Xavier Watts came up with the ball for Shough’s first interception of the season. The turnover led to Notre Dame’s 48-yard field goal and 24-14 lead with 3:46 left in the second quarter. Shough’s best play came about nine minutes before that when he sidearmed the ball to Brooks for a 5-yard touchdown.

Louisville will look to rebound from the loss next Saturday, when it hosts SMU at noon.

This story will be updated.

Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at [email protected] and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.

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Jeff Brohm no longer unbeaten

ByS. Jacob

By S. Jacob

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