The Legends Trophy is headed back to South Bend.
In its regular-season finale, No. 18 Notre Dame football wasn't playing for a College Football Playoff berth or a New Year's Six Bowl invitation. On Monday, head coach Marcus Freeman said the Irish had an opportunity to reach their full potential, and it showed in their 56-23 win against Stanford.
After trailing by two points in the middle of the second quarter, Notre Dame (9-3) scored 42 unanswered points against the Cardinal (3-9) before allowing a fourth-quarter score.
Inside ND Sports dishes out two game balls to Irish players after their performances.
Notre Dame running back Audric Estimé
Estimé was listed as one of Notre Dame's players to watch entering the matchup, and the junior running back followed through with a career performance. After surpassing the 1,000-yard rushing mark last Saturday against Wake Forest, Estimé kicked it into another gear with 25 carries for 238 yards and four touchdowns.
Offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Gerad Parker established the run early, and it paid off — Notre Dame eclipsed 300 total rushing yards for the first time since they racked up 301 against Florida State in 2020. Besides displaying his breakaway speed on his 25 and 39-yard touchdown runs, Estimé fell forward and used his strength to carry defenders with him between the tackles. He averaged 9.5 yards per carry and benefited from the offensive line's execution and impact blocks made from tight ends Eli Raridon and Cooper Flanagan.
After the Wake Forest game, Estimé said he hadn't decided yet whether or not he would declare early for the NFL Draft. If Stanford was his last game at Notre Dame, Estimé left his mark by carving up the Cardinal defense and spearheading the Irish backfield for running backs coach Deland McCullough.
Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser
Notre Dame's two other starting linebackers, JD Bertrand and Marist Liuafu, finished with more tackles than Kiser. However, the Royal Center (Ind.) native's interception with under four minutes left in the second quarter entirely flipped the momentum.
After Kiser's 49-yard interception return, Stanford's offense didn't score or gain any traction against Notre Dame's first-team defense. Bertrand was credited with the quarterback hurry on Kiser's turnover.
Kiser finished with three tackles, including one solo, and one pass breakup. He wasn't the only defender that forced a turnover for defensive coordinator Al Golden. In the second half, linebacker Jaylen Sneed forced a fumble against Stanford backup quarterback Ari Patu, which safety Ramon Henderson recovered.
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