U of L makes history with win on Irish's turf
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – This was the win they so desperately wanted, the win they thought they had against Florida State three weeks ago, the win they thought they had at Clemson six weeks ago.
This was the win against a big-name opponent that the University of Louisville football players so badly craved. They desired this moment so much that, as Notre Dame kicker Kyle Brindza's game-tying field-goal attempt sailed wide right, all star linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin could do was run.
He ran toward the guys in the white jerseys, his teammates who'd scattered across the famous field at Notre Dame Stadium, shouting and screaming in the seconds after a 31-28 victory in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus.
They ran all the way to the locker room, and the shouting and screaming didn't stop.
"It was a little rowdy," Mauldin said, cracking a grin. "Everybody just raided the locker room, throwing stuff around."
It was the first time U of L and Notre Dame met, and they met here, on this revered field, under these renowned lights, in this football-crazed Indiana city. It was only the 13th time in Notre Dame's 127 seasons of football that the Irish lost to a first-time opponent on their home turf.
Freshman quarterback Reggie Bonnafon was so excited that he ran off the field with the game ball and tucked it in his backpack. He didn't even know what to do with it. He's never kept a ball after a game — until Saturday.
U of L (8-3) started fast, running to a 14-3 lead thanks to Bonnafon, who hustled in for touchdowns on back-to-back Louisville drives.
But Notre Dame (7-4) came back, and the Irish brought their crowd with them.
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A glance at Louisville's sideline told the entire story. U of L, after its energetic start, had lost its mojo, and the home-standing Irish had stolen it.
And it got worse from there: After the Irish cut Louisville's lead to four, U of L punter Ryan Johnson's kick sailed 40 yards, and Notre Dame freshman Greg Bryant erased all of it, darting through the Cards' punt coverage and stepping out at the Louisville 3-yard line. Notre Dame scored three plays later.
In that moment, the feelings from Clemson and FSU, the feelings of disbelief and despair, crept up. And in that moment, Bonnafon explained, U of L's players vowed things would be different.
"We kept our composure and knew we'd turn it around," Bonnafon said.
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Louisville's response was swift, strong and decisive. The Cards needed eight plays and 81 yards to reclaim the lead, with DeVante Parker's 30th career touchdown catch pushing U of L ahead, 24-20.
Bonnafon, who was 8 of 21 passing for 180 yards, one touchdown and one interception, made his best throw of the game on Parker's score, slotting a perfectly lofted toss over a defender and into Parker's stride.
"Everybody's behind him, all his teammates are behind him," U of L coach Bobby Petrino said of Bonnafon. "He kept his poise and kept competing."
After a Notre Dame punt, U of L pushed back again, this time churning through 80 yards in six plays. Brandon Radcliff, the hard-running, always-smiling sophomore running back, did the drive's heavy lifting and capped it with a 15-yard sprint to the left corner of the end zone.
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That touchdown, the scoreboard said later, was the game-winner, and Radcliff was the most fitting player to score it.
He ran 17 times for 136 yards, and 127 of them came in the second half. It was his third 100-yard-rushing performance this season.
"We just felt like, 'Hey, let's give Brandon a chance and see if his speed shows up,'" Petrino said. "We made some really good runs to win the game."
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They ran for 229 yards and three touchdowns here at Notre Dame, but none of the Cards' runs were as big as the last one, with zeroes on the clock, right down the middle of the field, past the blue-and-gold "ND" on the 50-yard line and into that locker room.
They were rowdy. They were happy. They were relieved. They finally got that win against a big-name opponent, and that was more than enough to celebrate.
"We told ourselves that we gave away one big game," Mauldin said, referring to the FSU loss.
"We can't give away another one."
Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter @jeffgreer_cj.