Irish Wear Green and are Full "Go" Chopping Down the Cardinal
On “Irish Wear Green” day, the Irish went full go right out of the gate against an overmatched Stanford Cardinal.
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
In years past, games like this would cause Irish faithful to shudder. A big-time game the following week, an underwhelming opponent, rivalry or not; this had a trap written all over it until the first offensive play for the Cardinal. Defensive Lineman Boubacar Traore came off the blind side of Stanford Quarterback Davis Warren and applied a hit that blasted the football loose; Notre Dame would recover the ball.
Conversely, Stanford would never recover from that, and Notre Dame didn’t stop going.
The Irish running game that has been much maligned this early season (unjustly, as this writer has pointed out many times) put their pedals to the ground. This includes the fan favorite/expert scapegoat Aneyas Williams, who showed where he fits in the running back equation, catching a beautifully thrown ball by Quarterback CJ Carr on a wheel route for a 70-yard touchdown. Nolan James Jr. added a workmanlike effort of 73 yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns.
This game could be looked at for one thing: the arrival of Jonaz Walton. Last week he was key in the rain in upending North Carolina, but this week was his star-making moment. Sitting at their own three-yard line, Notre Dame handed the ball to Walton, who in one move broke right and exploded for a 97-yard touchdown run (the longest for the Irish since Jeremiyah Love's 98-yard jaunt in a 2024 playoff game against Indiana). Walton would add a 47-yard touchdown run in the second half and finish with a freshman rushing record of 181 yards.
Anyone discrediting the Irish, their schedule, or the lack of a rushing attack (finished with over 330 yards on the ground) is missing the main takeaway: this is one of the most consistent and improving teams in the country, week in and week out. The defense was its lockdown self; despite missing stalwart Linebacker Kyngstonn Villiamu-Asa and the nation's top Cornerback Leonard Moore, the Irish held Stanford to under 200 total yards and forced three turnovers.
It was fitting that Stanford was wearing all white jerseys today (albeit with red numbers) on a day when some were thinking of a trap game; Notre Dame wearing green went full go and saw red. Seeing that red had Stanford waving the white flag of mercy early and often. Bludgeoning a rival by 50-plus points is the perfect way to go into Provo next week.
Hopefully, the full go color of green travels with the Irish.
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