U of L's persistence pays off at Notre Dame
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The evolution of the University of Louisville football team took a significant step forward on a chilly, windy, rainy Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium.
All season long, U of L's coaches
stood firm with their approach across the board, repeating and repeating again the philosophies they believe: Hard running to set up big passing plays and an aggressive, physical and attacking defense, no matter the situation.
Heartbreaking losses to Virginia, Clemson and Florida State rattled Louisville, and the struggles along the offensive line and even at quarterback frustrated the Cards. But the players, to the media, never blamed one another or the other side of the ball for those losses or rough cycles.
Saturday's 31-28 win at Notre Dame – albeit a worn-down, slumping Notre Dame – made all that persistence pay off.
"The defense did a great job early in the year of understanding it is a team game," U of L coach Bobby Petrino said.
"We did not have any separation when the offense couldn't move the ball and couldn't get it in the end zone for a couple games … It's the offense's job to score one more point and the defense's job to hold them to one less point. They held together, and I think that was really fun."
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Against Notre Dame, Louisville clicked early on. The Cards' offense moved the ball quickly down the field on two scoring drives, getting an effective push from the once-maligned offensive line and running the ball with power and confidence.
Quarterback Reggie Bonnafon, a freshman, showed poise and smart decision making, twice scoring after choosing to keep the ball on a read-option run instead of handing it off.
On defense, U of L firmed up in the red zone, keeping Notre Dame to two field goals despite the Irish churning out some yardage of their own.
"It's hard to execute on the road," Petrino said. "We always worry about getting the cadence and getting going, and it certainly hurt us at points in the game.
"However, they kept competing and we were able to convert some first downs that allowed us to go score."
Brandon Radcliff helped U of L's rally after the Cards lost their offensive moxie and Notre Dame took a 20-17 lead. The redshirt sophomore ran twice for nine yards in the first half. He ended up with 136 yards and a touchdown, and he powered Louisville's two scoring drives that put the Cards back in the lead and then extended it to 31-20.
Bonnafon's perfect pass down the right sideline to DeVante Parker capped the first drive, and Radcliff's 15-yard TD finished the second.
"Things were a bit rough there for a minute," Bonnafon said. "We just kept our composure and knew that we were going to turn it around and keep executing our game plan, and that's what happened."
When Notre Dame fought back again, cutting Louisville's lead to three points and eventually getting a chance to tie the game, the Cards passed the buck to the defense to finish the job.
The opportunity U of L's coaches had talked about all year, the one that the Cards missed in those three losses, had come up again.
And in that moment, Petrino said, the players' trust in the process and in themselves came to fruition. Notre Dame stalled in the red zone after three sharp defensive plays from U of L, and the game-tying kick sailed wide right.
"It looked like it could be back to overtime," Petrino said. "We started thinking about that, but our defense came up with some big plays. That's what is fun to watch: When the pressure is on, how hard our guys competed.
"Every play out there makes a difference. I'm just proud of our coaching staff and our players for keeping their poise."
Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).