Marcus Freeman Has Eyes Set On Preparing Notre Dame For Another Rivalry Game
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One of the many reasons you come to Notre Dame is to play in one of their many rivalry matchups. The Irish are known for having some of the fiercest rivalries in college football. Unfortunately, one of those rivals in USC aren't on the slate for quite some time, but one team from California remains as a consistent rival on Notre Dame's schedule, the Stanford Cardinal.
This week, the Irish prepare for the visiting Cardinal in a battle for the Legends Trophy. Notre Dame is 25-14 all-time against Stanford, but this will be head coach Tavita Pritchard's first time coaching in this matchup. He did, however, play for Stanford and understands what this rivalry game means. Freeman is looking forward to his matchup against Pritchard, a first-year head coach.
"I don't know him, but I've heard really good things about him," Freeman said about the first-year Cardinal head coach. "He obviously played at Stanford, so he understands the rivalry. I think that's important that our guys understand it. Their head coach has been a part of this rivalry and they'll be fired up, ready to come into Notre Dame Stadium.
"It's a rivalry game," Freeman continued. "The majority of our program has played in the Legends Trophy game. But we've got to make sure the people that haven't been a part of it understand what this rivalry is all about. It's Irish wear green. It's a great opportunity on Saturday. Good to be back home in our stadium."
Their numbers on paper don't reflect the level of improvement we've seen in this Stanford program in recent seasons. Pritchard and his two coordinators have this program going in the right direction even though the stats don't reveal that. Freeman understands this will still be a challenge on offense and defense.
"I think on offense, they've done a really good job throwing the football, especially in the middle of the field," Freeman shared. "Davis Warren is an experienced quarterback that if you give him time, he's going to find a way to put the ball where it needs to be. We've got to make sure that we are really detailed out in our past defense. And we've got to find ways to affect the quarterback. Their defensive coordinator, Kris Richard, is well-respected.
"He's formerly an NFL coordinator, NFL guy, a lot of NFL experience," Freeman continued. "I don't think their statistics probably reflect the type of defense they have. They had a couple guys out last week, a couple linebackers, but I think they've gotten a takeaway in every single game. It would be a great challenge for our offense to take care of the ball and take advantage of the opportunities it presents itself."
Freeman has won three straight against Stanford after dropping his debut against the Cardinal in 2022. Since that loss, Notre Dame has outscored Stanford 151-50 over the last three seasons and they'll look to continue that trend Saturday afternoon inside of Notre Dame Stadium.
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