Irish Crush Hapless Cardinal
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Notre Dame scored eight touchdowns and racked up 600 yards of offense in a 58-7 victory over Stanford. Jonaz Walton ran for 181 yards to set a program record for a freshman. This included a 97-yard scoring burst to open the second quarter. He later added a 40-yard scoring run. CJ Carr threw three touchdown passes in another flawless performance. The Fighting Irish defense stifled the Cardinal attack except for one rogue series in the third period. Notre Dame moves to 6-0 on the season with a road test against eighth-ranked BYU on the horizon.
Defensive end Boubacar Traore set the tone for the day on the first play from scrimmage. His hit on Stanford quarterback Davis Warren jarred the ball loose and the Irish recovered. Nolan James scored a few plays later for a quick 7-0 lead. Carr followed with a short touchdown pass to Jaden Greathouse to make it 14-0. After a Cardinal punt pinned Notre Dame inside the five yard line, Walton left the visitors in the dust.
Trailing 20-0, Warren tried to rally his troops. Traore dropped into coverage on third down and made a leaping interception over the middle. His dazzling return set up a Spencer Porath field goal for a 23-0 advantage. Unfortunately for Stanford, the nightmare was only beginning. Jordan Faison’s 37-yard punt return set up a 31-yard rushing touchdown by James. Once again, the Irish defense forced another three and out. Carr capitalized by throwing a perfect strike to Aneyas Williams on a wheel route for a 70-yard score. This extended Notre Dame’s lead to 37-0 as the first half ended.
Carr stayed in the game to open the third period. His 30-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Burress extended the advantage to 44-0 before he exited the contest. Stanford enjoyed their only taste of glory on the ensuing series. Warren hit Caden High with a long pass before connecting with Benji Blackburn for a 3-yard touchdown. The score stood at 44-7 as time ran down in the third quarter.
Noah Grubbs entered the game at quarterback for the Irish. The offense did not miss a beat as Walton capped another drive with a 40-yard scoring run. Notre Dame’s defensive reserves refused to allow the Cardinal to put up another meaningless score. When a Cardinal punt placed the Irish at their own nine yard line, Grubbs went back to work. Freshman Javian Osborne’s scoring run capped a 16-play drive to add an exclamation point to the rout.
Warren departed in favor of Charlie Mirer in the final three minutes. Mirer’s cameo ended quickly as Irish cornerback Mark Zachary made a leaping interception to set up victory formation. Notre Dame appeared to emerge from the battle without any significant injuries. Zachary and Francis Brewu were shaken up during the game but both were fine later. Carr caused consternation among the fan base with several unplanned scrambles and head first slides. Mercifully, no one took a shot at him when he was most vulnerable.
Notre Dame’s 361 rushing yards were by far its best total of the season. The Irish allowed 202 yards of offense by Stanford and had 26 first downs to nine for the Cardinal. Notre Dame possessed the ball for 37 minutes to Stanford’s 23.
Let’s review the answers to our pregame questions:
- Can Stanford’s struggling offensive line give Warren time to pick apart the Irish? Notre Dame rarely blitzed and recorded only one sack but played tight coverage. Warren was 12 of 22 for 144 yards.The third quarter pass to High accounted for 52 of them.
- Will Notre Dame generate turnovers against a team that has committed only two? Traore accounted for two by himself and Zachary added a third.
- Can the Irish secondary dominate the Cardinal receivers without Leonard Moore?Yes. Jayden Sanders played well and the defense allowed only one explosive play.
- Will Carr spread the ball around to involve more of his receivers? Yes. He threw scoring passes to Greathouse, Burress, and Williams. Twelve different Irish players caught at least one pass.
- Which tailback will lead Notre Dame in rushing? Walton, in a landslide. James was next and Carr came in a surprising third.
- It has been a certainty to score on Stanford in the red zone. How will Mike Denbrock do? Four out of four with three touchdowns and a field goal. The other five Irish touchdowns came from long range. Maybe we can lighten up on our beleaguered OC for a bit.
- Which of the Irish reserves will make the most of their opportunities this week?Burress, Osborne, Grubbs, Ian Premer and Matty Augustine played well on offense. Zachary, Teddy Rezak, and Sanders stood out on defense.
- Can Notre Dame’s special teams shake off last week’s poor performance?Kickoff coverage was good and Faison had a sweet punt return. Porath missed an extra point though. It hardly mattered today but it might later in the season.
- Will we have to root for Michigan if CJ Carr’s brother Tom takes over at quarterback?We will see what happens next week when the Wolverines play Penn State. The good news is one of those teams has to lose.
Now that the exhibition season is over, Notre Dame will have a massive target on its back. They should be ranked second in the country heading to a hostile environment in Provo next week. Good news regarding previously injured players would certainly be welcome. Irish fans have enjoyed sixteen consecutive wins but no one should be satisfied yet. The coaches have guided this team such that they are explosive and balanced on offense and dominant on defense. Hopefully, the best is yet to come.
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