Notre Dame Throttles Stanford To End Losing Streak

The Irish ended a five-game losing streak at Stanford by pounding the Cardinal

At times its play was as sloppy as the weather, but Notre Dame (10-2) finally got the Stanford (4-8) monkey off its back, beating the Cardinal 45-24.

The win was Notre Dame’s first over the Cardinal inside Stanford Stadium since 2007. Notre Dame’s ten wins also gives it back-to-back 10-win regular seasons for the first time since 1988-89.

Stanford came into the game averaging just 21.8 points per game, but it took an early 17-7 lead thanks to scoring drives on three of its first four possessions. The Cardinal controlled the clock early, going 75 yards on seven plays on its first drive and 82 yards on 16 plays on its second scoring drive, taking almost 12 minutes off the lock.

Notre Dame scored on its opening drive but struggled to do much after that. A defensive stop by the Irish defense and a blocked punt by freshman defensive end Isaiah Foskey changed the complexion of the game. That block was returned to the Stanford 1-yard line, and Notre Dame scored three plays later on a 2-yard pass from quarterback Ian Book to sophomore tight end Tommy Tremble.

The Irish defensive line started to take control of the action after that, with back-to-back pressures by ends Jamir Jones and Ade Ogundeji forced a Stanford punt. It took Book just three plays — all completions — to match the Irish offense back down the field, capping the drive off with a perfectly placed 41-yard strike to senior wideout Chase Claypool to give the Irish its first lead of the game.

Notre Dame took a 21-17 lead into the half, and when play resumed the Irish defense began exerting its will on Stanford. The Irish defense forced three straight three-and-outs to begin the second half, with Stanford gaining just 22 combined yards on those three drives.

The offense took advantage, with Book leading the Irish on an 86-yard drive to put some distance between itself and the Cardinal. With Notre Dame backed up at its own 7-yard line, Book stepped out of the pocket, kept his eyes downfield and hit sophomore wide receiver Braden Lenzy down the field on a drag route to pick up 43 yards.

Six plays later, Book used his legs to pick up 26 yards on a 4th-and-2 to put the Irish on the doorstep of the end zone. Two plays after that, Book hit Claypool on a crossing route for an 8-yard score to make it a 28-17 lead.

The special teams again came up big, with long snapper John Shannon recovering a muffed punt by Stanford returner Michael Wilson, which gave Notre Dame the football near midfield. After the offense stalled in Stanford territory, Irish placekicker Jonathan Doerer made up for an earlier miss by nailing a 42-yard field goal to put the road team up 31-17.

After a rough start, the Irish defense settled down and dominated Stanford for the final 39 minutes of the game. The Cardinal gained 221 yards and scored 17 points on its first four possessions, but Notre Dame held them to just 98 yards and 3.1 yards per play as Notre Dame turned a 17-7 deficit into a 38-17 lead.

The defense capped things off, as Ogundeji stripped the ball out of the hands of quarterback Davis Mills, and senior end Khalid Kareem recovered the ball in the end zone for the final score.

Book finished the game 17-30 for 255 yards and four touchdowns, and he added 29 yards on the ground. Tony Jones Jr. led the Irish with 50 rushing yards, and he got the first score for the Irish on a 16-yard reception on Notre Dame’s first drive of the game. Tight end Cole Kmet led the pass catchers with five receptions for 77 yards.

Junior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah led Notre Dame with nine tackles.

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