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Stanford Explodes Late To Defeat Notre Dame, 38-20

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Stanford's JJ Arcega-Whiteside catches the second of four touchdown passes from K.J. Costello.
Stanford's JJ Arcega-Whiteside catches the second of four touchdown passes from K.J. Costello. (Photo by Bill Panzica)
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A Notre Dame football season with so much promise through the first two months after an 8-1 start and a No. 3 College Football Playoff ranking ended with yet another November thud following a 38-20 loss at Stanford.

Trailing 20-17 at the start of the fourth quarter, Stanford (9-3) scored 21 points in a span of 3:36 to help it record its third straight victory against the Fighting Irish (also 9-3), and seventh in the last nine.

It also marked the first time in history that Notre Dame lost its regular season finale for the fifth straight year.

Notre Dame junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush finished 11 of 28 passing for 249 yards, with 83- and 75-yard catch-and-run touchdowns by sophomore Kevin Stepherson and junior Equanimeous St. Brown, respectively, and the signal-caller added a team high 61 yards rushing on 17 carries.

However, Wimbush also threw two interceptions and the Irish lost the turnover battle 3-0 — with all three miscues occurring during the decisive fourth quarter.

Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello finished a far more efficient 14 of 22 for 176 yards, with scoring tosses to four different targets. After a slow start, Cardinal running back Bryce Love totaled 125 yards rushing on 20 carries, with 94 of them in the second half on 10 attempts.

In the November road games against the two ranked teams Notre Dame played, Miami and Stanford, the Irish were outscored 79-28 and lost the turnover battle 7-0.


FIRST QUARTER: Notre Dame 7, Stanford 7

Top Moment: After the defenses dominated the first five series, Notre Dame faced third-and-seven from its 17. With excellent protection in the pocket, Wimbush found Stepherson on an intermediate crossing route that turned into an 83-yard touchdown with 3:40 remaining. It was the longest pass play in seven years by the Irish.

Top Performer: After Notre Dame’s score, Costello completed all four of his passes for 59 yards, the last to Trenton Irwin in the end zone for a 29-yard score with 43 seconds left.

Stats: Notre Dame’s 14 plays netted 115 yards. It ran 10 times for 30 yards and was 2-of-4 passing for 85 yards. Stanford’s 16 plays totaled 86 yards, with eight carries for 19 yards and 5-of-8 passing for 67 yards.

Items: Both defenses made third-and-two stops for lost yardage on star running backs Bryce Love (six carries, 15 yards) and Josh Adams (six carries, 10 yards), respectively, forcing punts.


SECOND QUARTER: Stanford 14, Notre Dame 10

Top Moment: With 11:29 left, Costello on second-and-goal found JJ Arcega-Whiteside on a four-yard fade that provided Stanford its first lead, 14-7. The touchdown culminated a 55-yard drive.

Top Performers: On the go-ahead touchdown drive, Costello found tight end Kaden Smith on 20- and 26-yard completions prior to the score.

Stats: Notre Dame outgained Stanford in the first half in total yardage 198 (127 passing, 71 rushing) to 170 (121 passing, 49 rushing).

Stanford did not convert a third-down situation in five attempts, while Notre Dame was 4 of 10.

Items: With Notre Dame trailing 14-7 and facing third-and-one at its 22-yard line, Adams was thrown for a loss again, leading to another punt.

Irish junior kicker Justin Yoon converted a 38-yard field goal at the 2:36 mark to conclude 69-yard march and cut their deficit to 14-10.

Both premier runners continued to be held in check, with Stanford’s Love finishing the half with 10 carries for 31 yards and Notre Dame’s Adams totaling 27 yards on 12 attempts.


THIRD QUARTER: Notre Dame 20, Stanford 17

Top Moment: On the first play of the second half, a short crossing route by Wimbush to St. Brown resulted in a 75-yard touchdown after a mismatch on the linebacker and good downfield blocking. The Irish regained the lead, 17-14.

Top Performer: Stanford running back Love carried six times for 58 yards in this quarter, and his running helped drive Stanford navigate down to the Irish 20-yard line by the end of the quarter.

Stats: Notre Dame had 325 yards total offense after three quarters (202 passing, 123 rushing) while Stanford had 258 (145 passing, 113 rushing).

Items: After the Irish touchdown on the first play of the second half, Stanford responded with a 64-yard drive on nine plays that concluded with a 24-yard field goal by Jet Toner with 10:23 left. The Cardinal had a first-and-goal at the six-yard line, but a lost-yardage play and two incomplete passes on fades forced the field goal.

At the 1:23 mark, Yoon kicked a 38-yard field goal to put Notre Dame ahead 20-17. The Irish began the drive at the Stanford 19 after a season-long 40-yard punt return by junior Chris Finke, but back-to-back Irish penalties on the first two plays helped stall the drive.

Finke’s return was set up after a punt by senior Tyler Newsome was downed at the one-yard line.


FOURTH QUARTER: Stanford 38, Notre Dame 20

Top Moment: After the Irish fell behind 24-20 at the 13:46 mark, on the first play following the kickoff Wimbush tossed an interception to outside linebacker Curtis Robinson, giving Stanford possession at the Irish 29. Three plays later, Costello connected with tight end Dalton Schultz on a 12-yard touchdown with 12:21 left. That gave them two touchdowns in a span of 1:25 and a 31-20 cushion.

Junior CJ Sanders then fumbled the ensuing kickoff to give Stanford possession at the Irish 18 yard-line, and a three-yard scoring run by Love gave the Cardinal three touchdowns in 3:36.

Top Performer: Costello completed his third and fourth touchdown passes to his third and fourth different receivers while demonstrating poise in the pocket.

Stats: Notre Dame finished with more total yards than Stanford, 415-328, but the three turnovers were the difference. Two of them set up short fields for 29- and 18-yard Cardinal touchdown drives.

Items: With the Cardinal trailing 20-17 and facing third-and-8 from the Irish 19, Costello side-stepped a rush by Irish sophomore end Julian Okwara and delivered a scoring toss to a leaping Smith in the end zone. Stanford had been 0-for-7 on third down prior to that play.

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