TV info, stats, story lines: U of L-Notre Dame

MATCHUP

Louisville at Notre Dame

Notre Dame Stadium, 3:30 p.m.

RECORDS

Louisville (7-3), Notre Dame (7-3).

ON THE AIR

TV: NBC. Radio: WHAS-840.

FAVORITE

Notre Dame by 3.

SERIES

First meeting.

COACHES

Louisville: Bobby Petrino (48-12, fifth season). Notre Dame: Brian Kelly (44-18, fifth season).

Story lines

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. It's such a coaching cliche and it's been the big topic of the week, but turnovers could have a major impact on this game. Why? Notre Dame's coughed up the ball a whopping nine times in the last two games. Louisville's defense is one of the best in the nation at taking the ball away. When you put those two together ... But don't sleep on Notre Dame's defense, either. The Irish have 21 takeaways this season, which offsets the 383.2 yards per game they allow.

The dual-threat QBs. Will Gardner's not walking through that door, Louisville. It's Reggie Bonnafon Time (Part II). The freshman quarterback has a chance to take the starting job and run with it into next season if he can put together good performances against Notre Dame, Kentucky and U of L's bowl opponent. He's been exceptional at times, painfully inexperienced at others. That's what anyone would expect in a quarterback's first year. But now the spotlight's on him for the rest of the season, and Gardner's not looming over him.

The chess match. Stats tell a lot about a team, and there are a few contrasting numbers that add to the intrigue of Saturday's game. Notre Dame is one of the best teams in the country at passing the ball, converting third downs and scoring. Louisville's defense is one of the top in the nation at stopping the pass, stopping third-down conversions and keeping opponents out of the end zone. Everett Golson and Notre Dame's passing game closely resemble FSU, which threw all over U of L in the second half. So lessons learned from that experience need to be put to use by the Cards on Saturday.

A first time for everything. It's odd to think that two programs with more than 200 years of combined history have never played each other. U of L will be the 72nd different team to play its first game against Notre Dame at Notre Dame Stadium. Perhaps even weirder, Notre Dame's Brian Kelly, a coach for 23 seasons, and Louisville's Bobby Petrino, a coach for 10, have never coached against each other. By the time Kelly got to Cincinnati in 2007, Petrino had left Louisville.

Players to watch

LOUISVILLE

Reggie Bonnafon

#7 | QB | FRESHMAN

Welcome back to The Show, kid. What a rollercoaster of a season this has been for Bonnafon, the Trinity High grad who didn't need long to become a fan favorite. Bonnafon started three games -- Wake Forest, Syracuse and Clemson -- after Will Gardner tweaked his knee in late September. The results were mixed, but the learning experience valuable. A month later, Gardner is done for the season, and Bonnafon's time under center should serve him well. He's still not a complete threat with his arm, but he's getting there. This is a good test against a Notre Dame team that scores a lot -- and gives up a lot of points.

NOTRE DAME

Everett Golson

#5 | QB | SENIOR

One of the more talented quarterbacks in the country, Golson's hit a rough patch the past two games, with five interceptions and two fumbles. And, as Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly put it, the turnovers have come at "critical, catastrophic times." To add to Golson's concerns, he sprained the AC joint in his throwing shoulder during the Irish's loss to Northwestern. But all of that doesn't take away from Golson's ability. He's a dual-threat signal caller who can move around in the pocket, take off or hit the deep ball. Louisville will need to be on its Ps and Qs on defense.​

TALE OF THE TAPE