Marcus Freeman’s Fighting Irish will play their must-win game on Saturday. Notre Dame will face Jeff Brohm’s Louisville Cardinals. Last week they won over Miami (OH) by 28-3. On the other hand, Louisville Cardinals have won all three games so far by impressive margins. Till now, Jeff Brohm’s team is looking strong on offense as well as defense. As the season enters week 5, the competition is heating up. Fighting Irish, who are looking for their third back-to-back victory and are dreaming of entering the playoffs. Last year, Notre Dame’s chance of making it to the playoffs was hampered by a loss against Louisville. Well, good news for Marcus Freeman! The chances of that repeating are decreasing, especially considering the injury updates from their Week 5 opponent.

On Always College Football, College Football analyst Greg McElroy discussed the Louisville Cardinals vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish game. Talking about the Cardinals’ players’ availability, McElroy said, “They’ve been banged up; they lost Jadon Thompson; uh, they lost Dakadrein Saunders, who is going to miss the rest of the year. Those guys are both out after getting hurt against Georgia Tech last week. Quincy Riley, who’s an All-American corner, is questionable at the moment for the game against Notre Dame. He missed most of the second half on Saturday against Georgia Tech, and Jeff Brohm right now is calling him a game-time decision.”

The list does not stop here; he added a few more names: “Maurice Turner, running back, is out several weeks with an ankle injury. Caullin Lacy broke his collarbone during fall camp. He was back at practice last week, which is actually pretty quick for him to be back out there, and Jeff Brohm said he’s likely a game-time decision as well and that Lacy is improving, but we weren’t sure whether or not he was going to be able to go against the Irish, so how healthy is Louisville? I mean, they’ve had a bunch of guys that have experienced some injuries already.”

The injury list for Jeff Brohm’s team is a bit long. It’s all good news for Marcus Freeman’s team. Notre Dame is hoping everyone forgets their Week 2 loss against the Northern Illinois Huskies at home. A thumping of the Cardinals will more than help that cause and increase his team’s chances of making it to the playoffs.

Marcus Freeman’s reflection on last week’s game and injury updates

Marcus Freeman was satisfied with his team’s performance last week against Miami, OH. During his weekly press conference, he said, “We accomplished some great things as a team on Saturday.” His backing his team is a sign of a positive atmosphere around Notre Dame. Although he recognized the strength of his team, he also highlighted the importance of improving while they move forward into week 5.

Keeping the biggest matchup in mind, he also added, “Saturday is the Irish Wear Green game versus Louisville, a 3-0 team that is playing at a really high level right now. As you can see from the video, they’re good in all three phases, so it will be a great challenge for our team.” He acknowledged that the Cardinals play hard in every aspect of the game. Even their special teams make sure that the opponents don’t have it easy on the field.

While the Cardinals are banged up for their Week 5 game, the situation isn’t all that rosy for Notre Dame either. We already know that senior cornerback Marty Auer will miss the season due to an ACL injury. The same is the scene with defensive lineman Quentin Autry. Freeman said this week that tight end Cooper Flanagan will probably miss a few weeks due to a left ankle injury. Senior defensive lineman Gabriel Rubio will also miss the Cardinals game.

Having said that, Marcus Freeman would still believe that he has enough for the Cardinals. Let’s see how the game goes for both teams. We can’t wait to watch this exciting matchup.