Louisville refused to play the role of the Washington Generals on Monday night, but Notre Dame managed to pull away in the second half to secure a 35-17 victory in the season opener. The teams traded long touchdown drives in the first quarter, which ended in an uneasy 14-14 tie that had Irish fans reaching for the Maalox. The defenses dominated the second period until a pair of fumbles by the Cardinals in their own end set up an Ian Book touchdown that gave Notre Dame a 21-14 halftime lead.
The Irish dominated play in the second half, but did not pull away on the scoreboard until Book hit tight end Tommy Tremble with his best pass of the night, a 26-yard scoring strike midway through the final period.