CARDINALS

All you need to prep for U of L-Notre Dame

Jeff Greer

Louisville Courier Journal

Louisville's Sheldon Rankins celebrates after a tackle in the first half. Rankins finished with six tackles and one sack. Oct. 18, 2014 By Matt Stone/C-J

Louisville and Notre Dame kick off Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Notre Dame Stadium. It's the first time the programs have ever played, and it's on national television.

You can watch the game on NBC, with Mike Mayock and Doug Flutie providing the color commentary. You can also follow along on Twitter as your fearless C-J staffers bring live coverage of the game. For the usual commentary and wit, follow columnist Tim Sullivan. For in-game updates and regular bad jokes, you can follow me.

There's a fan discussion thread all heated up and going now. Join here.

First things first, a few important primer notes:

James Quick will play: Cards receiver James Quick will dress for Saturday's game. He was suspended for the BC game for violating unspecified team rules, but U of L coach Bobby Petrino said this week that the 6-foot-1 sophomore had certain "stipulations" to follow in order to get back on the field. Guess he did that.

Game weather: It's expected to be in the mid-40s at kickoff, with 15 mph winds and lots o' clouds. It'll feel like 37 degrees, The Weather Channel says.

Vegas spread: Notre Dame opened as a nine-point favorite, but that line's dipped down to 2.5 points. The over/under is down to 52 after opening at 54.5.

Stat of the day: Louisville is the 72nd team to play its first game against Notre Dame at Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish are 58-12-1 against teams making their ND Stadium debut.

Pregame presentation: Today is senior day for Notre Dame, so they'll have an introduction before the game. Paul Hornung will toss the coin.

Bowls represented: The Sun Bowl has two reps here, as does Florida Citrus Sports, which runs the Citrus and Russell Athletic bowls.

OK, here's the game preview content you need:

Big game preview:Bonnafon, Louisville pumped for Notre Dame trip

Sullivan:On Paul Hornung's Heisman Trophy and the good it's done for Notre Dame

5 things to watch:The keys to Saturday's matchup

Watching the game:TV info plus key stats and story lines for Saturday

Video:Petrino's last update before Saturday's game

OK, let's rewind back through the week so you can catch up on everything. Here's all the game-week info we put out:

Ask Me Anything:The Notre Dame edition of our weekly Louisville Q&A

Healthy key guys:Mauldin, Vatuvei expected to play Saturday

Transcript:Petrino's Thursday Q&A