Notre Dame Starts Fast in Finale, Trounces Stanford
- Liam Farrell
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
No. 9 Notre Dame continued their dominant string of performances by finishing the season on a ten-game winning streak with a 49-20 victory over the Stanford Cardinal.
Photo by The Irish Tribune
PALO ALTO, Calif. - No. 9 Notre Dame could only control one thing on rivalry week: dominating their opponent.
In a game that Marcus Freeman described as "The Super Bowl", Notre Dame came out with urgency and certainly looked the part of a complete football team.
"You are talking about a team that's playing as well as anyone right now," said Freeman.
While it was impossible to better the 63-point victory from a week ago, the Irish put together another double-digit victory by playing complementary football on all three phases.
Mike Denbrock and the Notre Dame offense were excellent early on with four first half touchdowns that were powered by a plethora of contributors. It was all Jeremiyah Love early on as the Heisman candidate had eight rushes for 54 yards and a touchdown on the opening series of the game. While a second quarter injury scare appears to not be significantly serious, Love's absence from the game early on halted his Heisman hopes and his quest for Notre Dame's single season rushing record.
When asked about the severity of the injury, Love explained it was just a bruise and the X-rays came back negative.
With Love's absence, it was time for one of Freeman's institutional pillars to take shape once again: delayed gratification. In relief for Love were Jadarian Price and Aneyas Williams. Price ended today's game with only 15 rushing yards but two touchdowns. Williams, who has shown remarkable maturity and patience taking a lesser role this season, made the most out of his first half drive. Williams' sole second quarter drive he accounted for five carries, 25 yards, and a touchdown. Later, Williams made the most of his fourth quarter carries by breaking off a 51-yard touchdown run.
"It's like every time he goes in the game, he scores a touchdown... he practices and works and embraces his role." said Freeman about Williams.
Through the air, CJ Carr had an impressive game that showed his growth as a first year starting quarterback. Carr finished 17-27, for 205 yards, and two touchdowns. His ability to effectively throw the ball downfield still is his best weapon, yet he is making strides not trying to hit the home run every pass. With Carr's abundant football knowledge and ability to dissect a defense pre snap, Carr has exceeded all expectations entering this season.
Defensively, Chris Ash's unit shined in the first three quarters of the game. In that span, the Irish held the Cardinal to only two field goals, and kept them out of the end zone. However, in the fourth quarter, the Irish allowed two touchdowns, which made the game appear closer than the final score may have indicated.
In their first game without star Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, the linebacking room for Notre Dame shined. Captain Drayk Bowen led the Irish with seven total tackles, while Jaylen Sneed and Jaiden Ausberry impressed in elevated roles. Madden Faraimo didn't receive much playing time early, but flashed in his ability to rush the passer.
The secondary continued their hot streak as well, with Devonta Smith and Leonard Moore leading the defensive charge. Smith, since he fully recovered from a lingering injury early in the year, has been a great addition at the nickel position both in coverage and as a tackler in space. Smith was the leading solo tackler (5) for the Fighting Irish today.
While Jeremiyah Love was unable to bolster his Doak Walker and Heisman award pushes in this game, Leonard Moore added to his Jim Thorpe campaign. Moore finished the game with three pass breakups, and added an interception to bring his season total to five. If there's one certainty about the Notre Dame defense, it's that they have a true lockdown corner.
"I'm prepared to play many more games," said Moore.
In terms of special teams, Marty Biagi and Freeman continue to be ultra-aggressive in their fake punt play calls. Tonight, the Irish elected to run a fake pass from defensive lineman Josh Burnham to Luke Talich from their own 16-yard line. The gamble paid off as Talich took the pass 84 yards to extend Notre Dame's lead to 21. In terms of the rocky kicking game, Erik Schmidt provided a bit more stability making all of his PATs with good height.
While the rivalry weekend didn't give the Irish enough upsets to be locked into the College Football Playoff, they handled their business and capped off their ten-game win streak on an emphatic note.
"You are talking about a team that's playing as well as anyone right now... You talk about, 'Who are the best teams now?' It's hard to argue we're not one of those 12 teams," said Freeman.
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