PALO ALTO, Calif. — Notre Dame football didn’t waste much time getting off the field in Stanford Stadium.
By the time the Irish coaching staff members in the press box made their way to the field, all of Notre Dame’s players had already headed to the locker room following its 56-23 victory over Stanford.
The No. 18 Irish (9-3) had plenty of time to celebrate during a game that became one-sided in the third quarter. And there were plenty of Notre Dame fans on hand to cheer them on. An announced attendance of 30,901 sounded like at least half the fans who showed up were rooting for the Irish.
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Notre Dame’s locker room celebration included head coach Marcus Freeman and left tackle Joe Alt chugging Gatorade from the Legends Trophy, which was introduced to the rivalry in 1989. The Irish won for the fourth time in the last five meetings after losing 16-14 to the Cardinal in Notre Dame Stadium last season.
Notre Dame defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste, who joined the Irish as a graduate transfer this past offseason after five seasons at Ohio State, learned this week how seriously his teammates took this rivalry.
“All week the preparation, the amount of effort and attention to detail that everyone was putting into this game, you could see how bad everyone wanted it,” Jean-Baptiste said. “Just me coming in and seeing how important it was to them, made it important to me.”
The 2023 matchup didn’t resemble the 2022 version in many ways at all. The two teams surpassed last season’s scoring total (30 points) with 3:53 remaining in the first half. Notre Dame running back Audric Estimé, whose fourth quarter fumble damaged last season’s comeback attempt, rushed for four touchdowns this time.
Stanford made Notre Dame sweat by forcing three turnovers in the first half, but the Irish recovered to take a 28-16 lead into halftime. Notre Dame left no doubt by scoring the first 28 points of the second half.
“It was amazing to be able to celebrate that victory with that group of guys,” Freeman said. “We put a huge emphasis on finding a way to get that Legends Trophy back. And I reminded this group how important this rivalry is to both institutions, everybody that’s associated with Notre Dame, and how much we wanted to make sure that Legends Trophy got returned to South Bend. So, our guys went out and earned it.”
These five plays defined Notre Dame’s path from sloppy start to lopsided victory.
1. Notre Dame’s first sack of Ashton Daniels
Stanford’s offense showed the ability to be dangerous on its first possession of the game. Quarterback Justin Lamson turned a third-and-1 keeper into a 49-yard run. But the Cardinal offensive momentum was halted two plays later when linebacker Marist Liufau and Jean-Baptiste combined to sack quarterback Ashton Daniels for a seven-yard loss. Daniels managed to run for nine yards on third-and-18, but Stanford was forced to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Joshua Karty to take an early 3-0 lead.
Though Liufau and Jean-Baptiste shared the sack in the box score, Liufau made it happen. He knocked running back E.J. Smith back so hard that Smith hit Daniels before Liufau started to wrap him up. Jean-Baptiste helped finish the play after he wrapped around the edge. The play prior, Liufau knocked Smith out of bounds for a one-yard loss.
The Irish defense made passing difficult for Daniels by sacking him four times for a total loss of 27 yards. Jean-Baptiste, defensive tackle Rylie Mills and defensive end Nana Osafo-Mensah each recorded solo sacks to keep up the pressure. Daniels completed 15 of his 25 passes (60%) for 152 yards with one interception.
2. Audric Estimé’s first touchdown run
The winning recipe for Notre Dame’s offense became obvious on its second drive of the game. That’s when running back Audric Estimé ripped through the Stanford defense for a 39-yard touchdown run with little resistance. He took advantage of a hole at the line of scrimmage created by right tackle Blake Fisher and tight ends Eli Raridon and Cooper Flanagan and was quickly into the secondary.
Four carries into the game, Estimé was averaging 15.25 yards per carry. His total didn’t remain that high throughout, but he still finished with a 9.52 average with his 25 carries for 238 yards and four touchdowns. Estimé wasn’t tackled for a loss the entire night.
When the Doak Walker Award left Estimé off the 10-player semifinalist list for the top running back in college football, Stanford should have known what was coming its way.
“I’m not going to lie, it definitely fueled me,” Estimé said. “I definitely feel like I’m one of the best running backs in the country, if not the best. I definitely want other people to notice. But after today, I feel like a lot of people will notice.”
Freeman made sure Estimé used that motivation in the right way.
“What I tell him is that, ‘I want it to motivate you to work, motivate you to do the proper work that it’s going to take to get the outcome we all want,’ Freeman said. “We all want more. We all went greater, and not everybody’s willing to work.”
3. Jadarian Price’s fumbled kick return
Notre Dame’s rout of Stanford could have been well underway before halftime if not for three Irish turnovers. The first quarter fumble and second quarter interception by Sam Hartman were both bad mistakes, but the fumble by running back Jadarian Price on a kickoff return in the first quarter was most costly.
Prior to the kickoff, Stanford cut Notre Dame’s lead to 7-6 with a 23-yard field goal. Then Price caught Karty’s kickoff at the goal line and returned it for 30 yards. But as Price was going to the ground, Ese Dubre knocked the ball loose and Terian Williams recovered it. Two plays later, Stanford took a 13-7 lead with a 14-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier.
In Notre Dame’s two road losses to Louisville and Clemson, the Irish turned the ball over at least three times each. Fortunately for Notre Dame, the three turnovers didn’t lead to defeat this time.
“I wasn’t upset about the effort that we played with to start the game,” Freeman said. “You have to take care of the ball.”
4. Jack Kiser’s interception
Though Notre Dame had already regained a 21-16 lead late in the second quarter, Stanford’s offense still seemed capable of turning the game into an unexpected to shootout late into the first half. Stanford’s ensuing drive, which was aided by a roughing the passer penalty on Liufau on third down, showed promised in reaching ND’s 32-yard line following a pass interference on cornerback Cam Hart.
Linebacker Jack Kiser brought an end to the self-inflicted wounds by intercepting a Daniels pass intended for tight end Sam Roush. A 49-yard return by Kiser was ruined by a holding penalty on Osafo-Mensah, but the Irish still maintained possession in a critical moment. Rather than Stanford taking the lead back, Notre Dame was in position to extend its lead. The Irish offense followed through with a three-yard touchdown run by running back Gi’Bran Payne to complete a nine-play, 56-yard drive with 19 seconds left in the first half.
Notre Dame’s linebackers played a significant role in the defensive performance. JD Bertrand, who led the Irish with six tackles, hurried Daniels into the poor throw that Kiser intercepted. Bertrand also recorded a tackle for loss. Liufau finished second in tackles with five and tallied 2.5 tackles for loss with a half sack. And Kiser contributed three tackles and one pass breakup in addition to his interception.
5. Audric Estimé’s third touchdown run
What awaited Notre Dame’s offense in the second half became crystal clear when Estimé scored his third touchdown of the game and first of the second half. The five-yard touchdown run to extend Notre Dame’s lead to 35-16 couldn’t have been much easier.
Every block in front of Estimé accomplished what was needed, and he jogged into the end zone untouched as a result. Alt, left guard Pat Coogan and center Ashton Craig wiped defenders to the right with blocks. Tight ends Davis Sherwood and Flanagan sealed blocks to the left. The execution was impeccable.
“Those guys did a phenomenal job for me all year and I’m so thankful for them,” Estimé said of the Irish offensive line. “Honestly, I told them I have to take them all out to eat. I have to do something for them. I’m just so thankful for them. Those guys are hard workers. We’re led by the strong.”
Estime tacked on a fourth touchdown later in the third quarter to break Notre Dame’s single-season record with 18 rushing touchdowns. Both Vagas Ferguson (1979) and Allen Pinkett (1984) reached 17 rushing touchdowns in a season.
In what may have been his last game in a Notre Dame uniform due to an early entry to the NFL Draft, Estimé made a mark.
“Coming into this school, coming in as a freshman, coming in at Notre Dame, I always prided myself and I was saying, ‘I’m going to give them something to remember. I’m going to be something legendary,’” Estimé said. “Having a record like that has my name stamped in the history books forever. That means amazing for the whole offensive line to help me get that and for coach Freeman, [running backs] coach Deland [McCullough] for trusting me and giving me an opportunity to put me in position to be successful. I’m just thankful to God and everyone who helped me along this way.”
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