The Irish will look to keep the Legends Trophy in South Bend.

For the 17th time and first since 2018, Notre Dame (3-2) will welcome Stanford (1-4) to South Bend. The Irish hold a 12-4 all-time advantage at Notre Dame Stadium in the series (22-13 overall) and have won the last three meetings with the Cardinal. In the 36th all-time edition of the game, Notre Dame is a 16.5-point favorite, according to Vegas Insider.

Here are the players to watch in Saturday night’s (7:30 p.m. ET) matchup.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Thomas made a big step in becoming Notre Dame’s No. 2 receiver a week ago.

Last week against BYU, the sophomore pass-catcher registered career highs in receptions (3) and receiving yards (74) — 24.7 yards per catch. He also caught his first touchdown impressively, which helped Notre Dame go ahead 18-6 with about a minute left in the first half.

With each week, Thomas is improving. And head coach Marcus Freeman has noticed.

"He is probably — I don’t want to say the but — one of our best route runners and can be one of our best receivers and playmakers on offense,” Freeman said. “We just have to continue to improve. But he has to continue to do it in the game, because he's practicing at a high level.

“He's one of those guys practicing at a high level. When you see a guy playing a lot — maybe doesn't have a production in the games but is still playing a lot — that means he's earning that trust in practice. Jayden’s been a guy that's practicing at a high level. What you're seeing now is the results of that in a game."

After not recording any stats in three games last season, Thomas enters the sixth game of this season with six receptions for 106 yards (17.7 yards per catch). Five of those catches have come on passes from. Drew Pyne. Notre Dame’s starting quarterback has elevated the Irish passing game with 551 yards and six touchdowns in the last two games.

Despite the passing game continually improving, Thomas’ 106 yards are second among ND wide receivers. With Rivals’ No. 45 ranked wide receiver in the 2021 class having the best game of his young career, he will be relied on to take another step forward this week.

Thomas is matched against a Cardinal pass defense that checks into this week as No. 94 (out of 131) in pass-efficiency defense and 110th in total defense.

After Kyu Blu Kelly missed last week’s game against Oregon State, Stanford expects to have its most decorated active cornerback available.

Heading into this season, Kelly was the only player on the team named to a preseason All-America team. Phil Steele tabbed him a fourth-teamer in his preview magazine. In addition, Steele, Athlon Sports and the Pac-12 media projected him to finish as a first-team all-conference selection.

Kelly will need a big game against Notre Dame to live up to those expectations.

So far this season, most of the 6-1, 188-pound Kelly’s production has been in the tackling department, where he has 12 stops (10 solo). He recorded his first pass breakup of the year in his most recent game against Oregon on Oct. 1.

Kyu Blu is the son of former USC cornerback and 11-year NFL veteran Brian Kelly. The elder Kelly was selected in the second round of the 1998 draft and aided the Buccaneers in winning Super Bowl XXXVII. That year, he was the NFL’s interceptions co-leader.

During Kyu Blu’s first three seasons at Stanford, he has three picks. Not only is he seeking his first one of the 2022 season, but Kyu Blue is also looking for his first interception since Sept. 11, 2021.

Without E.J. Smith (out for the year), the son of former College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, Wilson has become Stanford’s most dangerous offensive weapon.

So far this season, Wilson has a pair of two-touchdown games. A Stanford football player has not achieved that mark since 2019. His best performance was a six-reception, 176-yard game (29.3 yards per catch) against Washington in week four. The Huskies had the No. 37 pass defense entering that game.

Wilson has 17 receptions in five games, a team-best 352 receiving yards (20.7 yards per catch) and four touchdowns on the season. His 20.7 yards per catch is 12th in the NCAA.

Notre Dame is 92nd nationally in pass-efficiency defense.

This week, Wilson could take advantage of a potentially diluted Irish secondary as cornerback TaRiq Bracy’s availability is in question with a hamstring injury. The fifth-year wide receiver should also see much of freshman Benjamin Morrison, who is expected to start his fourth career game.

Over the last two weeks, Kollie has become more involved in the Irish defense.

While the limited availability of JD Bertrand — due to targeting ejections in consecutive weeks — has opened the door for more playing time for Kollie, the 6-1, 220-pound sophomore should see more reps for the remainder of the season.

On Thursday, Freeman announced that fifth-year linebacker Bo Bauer suffered a knee injury in practice this week and would be lost for the season. Kollie is among the players Freeman mentioned who will be counted on to step up.

"I would think for sure you would see more Prince Kollie, who played really well last game,” Freeman said. “He's a guy we want to continue to get on the field more.”

In his Notre Dame career, Kollie has 18 tackles (10 solo) — playing mostly on special teams. He took advantage of an increased defensive opportunity last week, notching a tackle for loss and a sack.

This week, Kollie and the Irish linebackers should see plenty of Casey Filkins. The 5-11, 198-pound junior running back has taken over as Stanford's lead back and posted 339 rushing yards on 82 carries (4.1 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. All-Pac-12 junior tight end Benjamin Yurosek will also draw the attention of the ND thumpers.

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