Notre Dame vs. Louisville preview, odds, prediction, TV and streaming info
The first full weekend of college football wraps up on Monday night as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish visit the Louisville Cardinals. Kickoff from Cardinal Stadium is set for 8 p.m. ET. Notre Dame is coming off a historic season in which it went undefeated against a tough schedule to earn its first berth in the College Football Playoff. But the Irish saw their title hopes shattered in a 30-3 loss to
eventual champion Clemson. The Cardinals are in rebuilding mode following a 2-10 season that led to the departure of coach Bobby Petrino. Former Appalachian State coach Scott Satterfield will make his debut with the Cardinals on Monday. The Irish are 18.5-point favorites and the over-under for total points scored is 55 in the latest Notre Dame vs. Louisville odds. Before making your Louisville vs. Notre Dame picks, listen to the college football predictions from SportsLine expert Zack Cimini.
It wasn’t a fun year by any stretch of the imagination last season for Louisville after the loss of Lamar Jackson at quarterback crippled their team. They crawled to a 2-10 record and looked completely lost on both sides of the ball at times last season.
2019 doesn’t exactly get off to the easiest of starts either for the Cardinals as reigning college football playoff participants, Notre Dame, travel to their home field.
The story was quite the opposite for the Fighting Irish in 2018 as they were able to enjoy a 12-0 regular season before a semi-final loss to the eventual champions Clemson.
Now the Irish are tasked with likely having to go undefeated again this season in order to make the playoff, especially with a poor showing in their first ever playoff appearance.
Ian Book leads the Irish behind center after taking over for Brandon Wimbush last season. Book completed 68 percent of his passes for 2,628 yards and 19 touchdowns. Book will be fantastic this season again for the Irish, the question is can the defense continue to be one of the best in the country? They were No. 11 in points allowed last season but they lose 209 tackles at linebacker and shutdown corner Julian Love.
Jawon Pass was named as the starter on the flip side for the Cardinals and he returns after starting last season as well. Pass was less than stellar last season though as he threw for 1,960 yards, eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season.
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The Cardinals also return their leading rusher as well in Malik Cunningham, the only problem is that Cunningham only rushed for 473 yards last season. For most teams, having both the leading rusher and passer would be a great things. Who knows, Pass and Cunningham could improve this season. Honestly, I would be surprised if they don’t, but to beat Notre Dame on Monday night, they are going to have to improve immensely and fast.
How to bet and watch Notre Dame-Louisville online
Date: Monday, Sept. 2
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Louisville, KY
Stadium: Cardinal Stadium
TV Channel: ESPN
Odds: -18.5 Notre Dame (Bovada)
Over/Under: 55.0 (Bovada)
Prediction: I am a little shocked Notre Dame isn’t favored by more than -18.5 points. Louisville was really bad last season and unless they get things fixed, with the same quarterback that threw four more interceptions than he did touchdowns, things could get ugly quickly in Louisville. To make things worse for Louisville, Book is back and the rest of this Notre Dame team is motivated to make it back to the College Football Playoff. I think Notre Dame comes out with a purpose to get a convincing win over Louisville. I’ll take Notre Dame to cover as well as the under in this one.
The Scott Satterfield era opens at the University of Louisville when the Cardinals begin the 2019 season against perennial power and ninth-ranked Notre Dame on Labor Day evening. Satterfield, 46, spent the last six seasons as the coach at his alma mater, Appalachian State, where he went 51-24. More notably, he became the first coach to lead a school from the FCS level to the FBS and immediately earn three consecutive bowl wins. The Cardinals will face a Notre Dame team that went 12-0 during the regular season in 2018 before being blasted, 30-3, by Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET. The Fighting Irish are 18.5-point road favorites in the latest Notre Dame vs. Louisville odds, down a half-point from the opener, while the over-under is 55. Before making any Notre Dame vs. Louisville picks of your own, you need to see the college football predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times, and those who have followed it have seen massive returns. Over the past four years, this proprietary computer model has generated a jaw-dropping $4,530 profit for $100 bettors on its top-rated college football against the spread picks.
The model enters the first full weekend of the 2019 college football season on a blistering 49-29 run on all top-rated picks. It also called Miami (+7) covering against No. 8 Florida in the season opener and hit the under. Anybody who has been following it is way up.
Now the model has dialed in on Notre Dame vs. Louisville. We can tell you it's leaning under, and it has also generated a strong against the spread pick that cashes in well over 50 percent of simulations. That pick is available only at SportsLine.
The model has taken into account that the Fighting Irish bring back plenty of experience and talent on offense from last season. Eight starters return from a unit that was a pleasant surprise in 2018. One of those is quarterback Ian Book, whose insertion into the starting lineup in the fourth game changed the trajectory of the team's season forever. After Book became the starter, the Irish averaged 463 yards and 33.8 points per game (up from 365 and 23.3, respectively).
In addition, the model knows that the Irish return six starters from a defense that was one of the country's best. In 2018, Notre Dame allowed 18.2 points per game, which ranked 13th in the country. Senior safety Alohi Gilman is the team's top returning tackler with 95 stops last season, ranking second on the team. Notre Dame was 6-5-2 against the spread last season, covering four of its first six games.
But just because the Fighting Irish return plenty of talent from a 12-1 team does not guarantee they will cover the Notre Dame vs. Louisville spread on Monday.
The Cardinals also return an experienced team. Louisville has 18 players who started at least five games last season. Eleven of those returning starters are on defense, which should be improved under new coordinator Bryan Brown. While at Appalachian State last season, Brown guided the fourth-best scoring defense in the FBS (15.5 points per game). His unit held the opposition to 10 points or fewer seven times.
In addition, the Cardinals have one of the best offensive tackles in the country in Mekhi Becton. A 6-foot-7, 369-pound junior, Becton has started 22 games over his first two seasons in Louisville, including 12 last year. He was named a second team preseason All-American by Sporting News.
Eight months, 35 weeks, 247 days. That’s how long we will have waited for Notre Dame football by the time game day rolls around on Monday.
I don’t know about you, but it feels like we’ve waited a lot longer than that since the conclusion of the Cotton Bowl vs. Clemson on December 29, 2018.
Maybe it’s been the constant cycle of news and takes saying Notre Dame needs to join a conference in order to be eligible for the CFP in the future, or the recycled arguments of the Irish’s easy schedule that have made this off-season seem so long. Regardless, this off-season is in the books, and we can finally get back to real football in a few short days.
With back-to-back 10-win seasons and coming off the heels of a 12-1 season that resulted in a College Football Playoff appearance, expectations are high and all eyes will be on this year’s team as they enter the season ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll.
With the success Brian Kelly and this team has had recently, it’s hard not to be excited about the talent on this year’s roster and the big-time games that will undoubtedly have playoff implications down the road.The Scott Satterfield era will officially begin Monday when the Cardinals take the field against No. 9 Notre Dame at 8 p.m.
of L will be looking to bounce back from its dismal 2-10 season last year, while Notre Dame will be looking for a return trip the College Football Playoff. The Irish finished 12-1 last season, with their only loss coming to Clemson in the national semifinals.
