Notre Dame Pounds Stanford 38-17
Three years of frustration against Stanford ended with a resounding 38-17 Notre Dame victory on Saturday night.
Fourteen Notre Dame points in 14 seconds broke open a 24-17 fourth quarter Fighting Irish lead into the 38-17 advantage.
Senior running back Dexter Williams returned to the lineup in dramatic fashion after a four-game suspension to rack up 161 yards on 21 carries, opening the scoring with a 45-yard run.
Junior quarterback Ian Book completed 24 of 33 passes for 278 yards and four touchdowns to different receivers, with senior Miles Boykin grabbing one of them among his 11 catches for 144 yards. Book also rushed for 47 yards.
The Notre Dame defense had another dominant effort, led by senior tackle Jerry Tillery’s four sacks, while limiting the Cardinal to 229 total yards — and only 31 in the second half.
FIRST QUARTER: Notre Dame 14, Stanford 7
Top Moment: In his first appearance on the field this year, Williams’ initial carry resulted in a 45-yard touchdown romp with 8:13 left to cap an 85-yard drive in seven plays and provide the Irish a 7-0 lead.
Standout Performers: Senior running backs Williams (four carries, 72 yards and the score) and Stanford’s Bryce Love (seven carries, 56 yards).
The Cardinal answered Notre Dame’s touchdown with a 75-yard march that concluded with Love’s 39-yard run with 4:39 remaining. Love also had a nine-yard catch.
Stats: Notre Dame had 182 yards in the first quarter (120 rushing, 62 passing) to Stanford’s 88 (56 rushing, 32 passing).
Items: With nine seconds left, Book completed a six-yard touchdown to a leaping fifth-year senior tight end Nic Weishar on third-and-two. During that drive, sophomore tight end Cole Kmet made a sensational 14-yard grab in coverage on fourth-and-two from the Cardinal 33-yard line.
On Notre Dame’s initial possession, junior running back Tony Jones Jr. was stopped short on fourth-and-one from the Stanford 47 at the 12:02 mark … On the next Stanford series, junior cornerback Troy Pride Jr. broke up a pass on third-and-two from the Notre Dame 45, forcing a punt.
SECOND QUARTER: Notre Dame 21, Stanford 14
Top Moment: After Stanford failed to down a punt inside the Notre Dame five-yard line and watched the ball bounce into the end zone with 2:03 left, Notre Dame drove 80 yards in seven plays, tallying on a 10-yard pass from a scrambling Book to junior receiver Chase Claypool with 39 seconds remaining to take a 21-14 lead into the locker room.
Standout Performer: Prior to the scoring pass to Claypool, the Book-to- Boykin combination connected on 11- 10-, nine- and 33-yard passes
Stats: Notre Dame’s 307 first-half yards came on 43 plays — 29 carries for 158 yards and Book completing 12 of 14 passes for 149 yards.
Stanford’s 198 yards were produced on 14 carries for 68 yards and 11 of 17 passing for 130 yards.
Items: Just like after Notre Dame’s first touchdown, Stanford answered after falling behind 14-7 with an 84-yard drive in eight plays, finishing with a five-yard jump ball by quarterback K.J. Costello to wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside on third-and-goal despite blanket coverage by junior cornerback Julian Love. The tally came at the 10:36 mark.
With 5:52 remaining, a 64-yard punt by Stanford’s Jake Bailey, plus an Irish penalty, flipped the field in one play from Stanford’s 14-yard line to Notre Dame’s 15-yard line in possession.
THIRD QUARTER: Notre Dame 24, Stanford 17
Top Moment: Senior Justin Yoon converted a 37-yard field goal with 8:07 left to end a 56-yard, 11-play drive that took 4:05. That provided the Irish a two-score cushion at 24-14.
Standout Performer: Senior Irish rover Asmar Bilal led an Irish defensive effort that limited Stanford to 44 yards in the quarter. He dropped Love for a five-yard loss on one three-and-out series, broke up a pass on another three-and-out and added a hard solo stop later.
Stats: During the third quarter, Notre Dame totaled 93 yards total offense to Stanford’s 44.
Items: Both team started with three-and-outs. … With 7:25 remaining Notre Dame fifth-year senior captain Alex Bars suffered a leg injury that sidelined him
Stanford reduced its deficit to 24-17 with 2:16 left on a 46-yard field goal by Jet Toner. The march gained 53 yards on eight plays.
The quarter ended with Notre Dame facing third-and-11 at Stanford’s 28-yard line.
FOURTH QUARTER: Notre Dame 38, Stanford 17
Top Moments: With 8:16 left, the Book-to-Boykin connection for an eight yard touchdown provided a 31-17 Notre Dame lead. The 58-yard drive took 10 plays.
Stanford’s first play on the ensuing series resulted in an interception by senior linebacker Te’von Coney — and on the next play Book found a wide open senior tight end Alize Mack on a 35-yard touchdown with 8:02 remaining. That meant 14 points in 14 seconds.
Standout Performer: Tillery registered back-to-back sacks to conclude a dominant overall performance by the Notre Dame defensive line that limited the Cardinal to 31 yards in the second half.
Stats: Notre Dame finished with 550 yards on 88 plays — 272 rushing on 55 carries and 278 passing.
Items: With the Irish up 24-17, Yoon’s 50-yard field-goal attempt with 13:51 left, after two Irish penalties, barely sailed wide left.
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