Notre Dame learned from its loss to Northern Illinois not to take anyone lightly. Louisville never should be, of course, but the Cardinals have staggered out of a starting three-game stretch with enough injuries to last a season and could be overlooked in some circumstances. The Fighting Irish are banged up, too, but wield more depth to handle most vacancies. Irish QB Riley Leonard has drawn brickbats for so-so downfield passing yet has proven to be a dangerous runner, an area the Cardinals were victimized recently.

There's too much value on the Cardinals here, seeing as how they might have the better QB in the matchup, and the more dynamic offense.

The further I dive into this matchup the louder I hear "I don't trust either of these offenses as much as the defenses" in the back of my mind. So if I don't trust either offense, there's only one logical choice.

Both of these teams rank in the top-15 nationally in scoring defense each allowing less than 14.0 points per game. The Fighting Irish will also be looking to control this game on the ground, which will keep the clock running and limit possessions.