| Game Information: | |
|---|---|
| Date: | Monday, September 2 |
| Time: | 8:06 p.m. ET |
| Site: | Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY 61,000 (Field Turf) |
| TV: | ESPN (National) | ESPN App • Chris Fowler (play-by-play) • Kirk Herbstreit (analysis) • Maria Taylor (sideline) |
| Radio: | Notre Dame Radio Network (Affiliates) SiriusXM (Channel 129) 96.1 FM, 101.5 FM & 960 AM (South Bend) |
| Tickets: | Notre Dame Ticket Exchange powered by VividSeats.com |
Full Notre Dame Game Notes Package
IRISH AT CARDINALS – BY THE NUMBERS
| 0 | The Irish completed an undefeated season at Notre Dame Stadium for the second time in four seasons in 2018 (2015, also 6-0). |
| 1 | Notre Dame will be playing its first game ever on Labor Day Monday. |
| 2 | Monday evening will mark just the second meeting between Notre Dame and Louisville - and the first in Louisville, Kentucky. |
| 3 | The 10th year of the Brian Kelly era begins with just the third season-opener away from Notre Dame Stadium for a Kelly-coached team and the second on an opponent’s home field (2012 vs. Navy in Ireland, 2016 at Texas). |
| 3rd | Junior Ian Book’s 68.2 completion percentage in 2018 places him as the third-most accurate passer returning in 2019 (Jack Abraham, Southern Mississippi, 73.1; Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama, 69.0). |
| 5 | Book’s 154.0 passer rating in 2018 was the fifth-best single season in Irish history. |
| 10 | Brian Kelly begins his 10th season as the head coach at the University of Notre Dame, becoming just the fifth Irish coach to spend a decade or more at the school (Knute Rockne, 13; Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Lou Holtz 11). |
| 10.5 | Senior Julian Okwara enters the season with 10.5 career sacks, looking to break into the all-time top 10 at Notre Dame this season (Anthony Weaver, 1998-2001, is 10th with 17.0). |
| 11 | Notre Dame has won 11 consecutive games at Notre Dame Stadium, including a 6-0 clean slate last season. It is the third-longest winning streak at home for the Irish since Notre Dame Stadium opened in 1930. |
| 23 | Notre Dame boasts 23 wins over the past two seasons, the most over a two-year span since the Irish went 24-1 in 1988 and 1989. |
| 50 | Senior Chase Claypool is the top returning receiver for the Irish in 2019, grabbing 50 of his 84 career receptions last season. |
| 68.2 | Book’s 68.2 completion percentage in 2018 set a school single-season record, surpassing Jimmy Clausen (68.0) in 2009. |
| 69 | Pro Football Focus credited Julian Okwara (40) and senior Khalid Kareem (29) with 69 quarterback hurries in 2018 - making the defensive end duo the top pass rush tandem returning in the FBS for 2019. |
| 77% | Notre Dame is 13-4 (.765) all-time in season opening prime time games. |
| 200 | Notre Dame is the only team in the FBS with three different 200-yard rushers over the past two seasons (Brandon Wimbush, Josh Adams - 2017; Dexter Williams - 2018). |
| 268 | The Notre Dame sell out streak stands at 268 consecutive games, the second-longest in NCAA history. |
| 346ˆ | Games coached by Brian Kelly in his career, second active in the NCAA to Mack Brown (North Carolina). |
23-4 LAST TWO SEASONS
- Earning a College Football Playoff bid and finishing 12-1 in 2018, Notre Dame has compiled a 23-4 record over the past two seasons – the best two-year run for the program since 1992-93 (21-2-1, .883).
- A look at Notre Dame’s top two-year combined records since 1964:
| Pct | Record | Years |
|---|---|---|
| .960 | 24-1 | 1988-89 |
| .913 | 21-2 | 1973-74 |
| .883 | 21-2-1 | 1992-93 |
| .868 | 16-2-1 | 1965-66 |
| .875 | 17-2-1 | 1966-67 |
| .857 | 18-3 | 1970-71 |
| .851 | 23-4 | 2017-18 |
| .840 | 18-3-1 | 1969-70 |
| .825 | 16-3-1 | 1965-65 |
SEVEN CAPTAINS IN 2019
- Quarterback Ian Book, safety Jalen Elliott, wide receiver Chris Finke, safety Alohi Gilman, offensive lineman Robert Hainsey, defensive lineman Khalid Kareem and defensive lineman Julian Okwara will serve as team captains for Notre Dame in 2019.
- The seven total captains matches a program-high from the 2017 season (DeShone Kizer was part of that group but eventually declared for the NFL Draft, leaving the Irish with six captains for the actual football season).
SEASON OPENERS
- Notre Dame is 106-17-5 (.848) in season openers, with victories in 26 of the last 32 lid-lifters.
- In eight of the last nine seasons, the Irish have scored the first points in the season’s opening game, including Jafar Armstrong’s 13-yard touchdown run against Michigan last season on Notre Dame’s season-opening drive.
- The Irish are 7-2 in season openers under Brian Kelly.
- Since 1958, the Irish are 36-4 (.900) in the season opener when scoring first, while they are 13-6 when the opponent registers the first score.
- Notre Dame will kick off the 2019 season in primetime at Louisville, marking the fourth time in five seasons the Irish will open the regular season in a night contest (2015 against Texas at Notre Dame Stadium; 2016 against Texas at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin; 2018 against Michigan in Notre Dame Stadium).
- 2019 is the 18th season in which Notre Dame will officially open a regular season under the lights. The Irish are 13-4 (.765) in prior season-opening night games, which includes a 5-0 record at Notre Dame Stadium.
- In the 108 seasons Notre Dame has won its opener, the Irish have gone on to post a winning record 92.7% of the time (99 seasons).