Name: Emotion just as important as execution for No. 10 Notre Dame football at No. 25 Louisville
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Emotion just as important as execution for No. 10 Notre Dame football at No. 25 Louisville

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Tom NoieSouth Bend TribuneLOUISVILLE, Ky. — Seated aboard the Notre Dame football charter as it prepared to taxi a Raleigh-Durham International Airport runway early Sunday morning, Irish graduate student linebacker Marist Liufau was spent.&nbsp;He had just spent the previous three-plus hours on the field of Wallace Wade Stadium chasing Duke quarterback Riley Leonard, and anyone else who carried the football. He battled blockers. He played 57 of a possible 70 snaps. He made six tackles. He pulled himself from pileups and sidestepped collisions. He ran off the field; he ran on the field.&nbsp;He was particularly energetic — he wasn’t alone — after No. 10 Notre Dame (5-1) successfully wriggled free from a seemingly impossible situation.&nbsp;Pod of Gold:Talking halfway point of Irish season heading into LouisvilleA couple of hours after Notre Dame capped its late comeback with a 21-14 victory, Liufau felt the effects up and down and all around his 6-foot-2, 239-pound frame. His body ached. He wanted nothing more than to sleep, but sleep wouldn’t be easy. Not on that night. Not after that game. Really, not after many games. It never comes.&nbsp;“It’s pretty draining,” Liufau said. “I’m pretty tired after games, mentally and physically (but) when we get on that plane, I don’t feel tired.&nbsp;“You get a lot of adrenaline.”&nbsp;That adrenaline faucet finally shuts off sometime Sunday, the only day the Irish really have to refill their emotional tanks. To rest and reset. To refocus. Come Monday, it’s back to the execution of blocking and tackling and all that x and o stuff.&nbsp;Some guys, should they play their college football careers away from the spotlight that constantly shines on Notre Dame, may be fortunate to experience one game that comes down to the magnitude of the final minute. Notre Dame has played such a game in each of the previous two weeks — at home against Ohio State, on the road against Duke.&nbsp;It can leave you, like it left Liufau, exhausted. Physically and emotionally empty.&nbsp;“It’s been crazy,” Liufau said. “It’s definitely an emotional roller coaster the past two weeks (but) it always feels good to win. We’re rolling into this week (Saturday at No. 25 Louisville, 7:30 p.m., ABC) with that win.&nbsp;“It’s just a great service for us and our mindset.”&nbsp;Depth chart:No. 10 Notre Dame football's depth chart for No. 25 LouisvilleFollowing that win at Duke, head coach Marcus Freeman made quick mention of how the Irish wouldn’t get caught up in the circus of the comeback, particularly because there was so much to clean up. On offense. On defense. On special teams. Knowing that the Irish can and must play better would keep them from collectively feeling satisfied.&nbsp;When Tuesday rolled around and it was time to go back to practice, there remained much to be done from a physical standpoint. But what about the mental side? It’s easy to get back on the execution bus, but how do you recharge emotionally so that come another Saturday night in another road game against another ranked team, you’re not running on fumes?&nbsp;That seems just as important as the execution side of everything, right?&nbsp;For players like Liufau, who leave everything out there emotionally every game, it’s vital to refuel. For others, emotion is too foreign a factor.&nbsp;“I wouldn’t say (games are) emotionally draining, to be honest,” said freshman running Jeremiyah Love, who may be too young to not know what he may not know about the long haul of a college football season. “I don’t react to things like everybody else. My emotions, I’m not really moved by a lot of things.”&nbsp;These last two weeks were enough to move everybody involved — coaches, players, staff, even the media. It was a wild ride of up and down and winning and losing, of emotion. But the game in Kentucky closed quickly. How do you emotionally prepare for another one?&nbsp;Maybe by knowing that you get only 12 of these opportunities during the regular season and the next one’s already No. 7. It’s staggering that the season’s already half over. The start of camp in July feels like last week. The Navy and Tennessee State games feel like yesterday. Tomorrow will be here before you know it, and then tomorrow’s suddenly over.&nbsp;Trouble getting up for one? That’s no trouble, just tap back into your emotional reserve and go.&nbsp;“These opportunities are dwindling down,” Freeman said. “They’ll be grateful; they’ll be ready.”&nbsp;Freeman sidestepped the question of how to keep his guys fresh and focused after Ohio State and Duke. It’s not so much about emotion, he said Monday, than it is execution. Get back to practice and prepare. Improve, and do it faster than the opposition. Those 12 penalties the previous week? Fix them. Those missed opportunities on third down (3 of 15) against Duke? Fix those too.&nbsp;More:Four to watch when Notre Dame football visits LouisvilleThe energy that it takes to play this game and it play it well? That seemingly solves itself. The emotional wave of the last two weeks? All part of the ride that is college football.&nbsp;“Coach Freeman says it best — just staying on that bumpy road, just staying on that journey to get better,” said junior right tackle Blake Fisher. “Trying to maximize our full potential whenever we touch the field, whenever we go to practice, whenever we go to meetings, so when those moments come when you have up and down games, highs and lows, keep your composure, be in the moment, stay in the moment.&nbsp;“And win in the moment.”&nbsp;When would the Irish feel emotionally full this week? For some, maybe Thursday. Others, Friday morning. For Liufau, he often feels refreshed — maybe even reborn — by Friday night when there’s no more meetings, no more practice, no more film review, no more anything. Just you and your thoughts and waiting for another game to go green.&nbsp;“Whenever we get all our stuff in and know that you had a great week of practice, great week of preparation going into the game, you feel ready to go,” he said. “The rest is just playing.”&nbsp;As for this weekend maybe becoming another white-knuckler, hold-on-to-your-butts battle, nobody Irish would mind that if it ends the way last week did.&nbsp;“It’s been a bumpy road the past two weeks,” Love said. “A bunch of emotions fluctuating — happy, sad. But it’s been fun.”&nbsp;Always is when you win.&nbsp;Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact: (574) 235-6153.When: Saturday, Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m. EDT&nbsp;Where: L&amp;N Federal Credit Union Stadium (60,800), Louisville, Ky.&nbsp;Rankings: Notre Dame is ranked No. 10 in AP poll and No. 11 in the US LBM Coaches Polls. Louisville is ranked No. 25/25.&nbsp;TV: ABC&nbsp;Radio: WSBT (960 AM), WNSN (101.5 FM)&nbsp;Line: Notre Dame opens as a 6.5-point favorite&nbsp;Series: Notre Dame leads all-time series 2-1&nbsp;Last meeting: No. 4&nbsp;Notre Dame defeated Louisville, 12-7, on Oct. 17, 2020 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind.&nbsp;

Tom NoieSouth Bend TribuneLOUISVILLE, Ky. — Seated aboard the Notre Dame football charter as it prepared to taxi a Raleigh-Durham International Airport runway early Sunday morning, Irish graduate student linebacker Marist Liufau was spent.&nbsp;He had just spent the previous three-plus hours on the field of Wallace Wade Stadium chasing Duke quarterback Riley Leonard, and anyone else who carried the football. He battled blockers. He played 57 of a possible 70 snaps. He made six tackles. He pulled himself from pileups and sidestepped collisions. He ran off the field; he ran on the...

Emotion just as important as execution for No. 10 Notre Dame football at No. 25 Louisville

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