Notre Dame Football Primer: No. 3 Irish Battle Stanford for the Legends Trophy

After two double-digit road wins against Big Ten foe Purdue and ACC foe North Carolina, the Fighting Irish return to South Bend for their final “tune up” before traveling to Provo to take on BYU. Last Saturday, Marcus Freeman’s group faced challenges and adversity, but ultimately prevailed. This weekend will be another “trophy game” that has been dominated by the Irish over the past decade, against a power-four program struggling to keep up in the NIL era. Has the Irish running game, headlined by Jonaz Walton and Nolan James Jr., finally been solidified? Find out this weekend as the Fighting Irish look to improve to 6-0 against the Stanford Cardinal.

Essential Game Info

• Game Time: Saturday, October 10th at 3:30 PM ET on NBC
• Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
• Matchup History: Notre Dame Football is 25-14 all-time against Stanford (Last Meeting 2025: Irish won 49 to 20)
• Trophy: Legends Trophy
• Odds: Notre Dame

Stanford Details

• Conference: ACC
• Head Coach: Tavita Pritchard
• 2026 Record: 2-2 (1-2)
• 2025 Record: 4-8 (3-5)

Weather Forecast

At the time this article was written, the current forecast calls for a 5% chance of rain, with a high of 76 degrees and a low of 53.

What to Know About Stanford

Tavita Pritchard enters his first season in Palo Alto. The new Stanford head football coach was previously the quarterbacks coach of the Washington Commanders and was a quarterback at Stanford from 2006-2009. In notable games this fall, the Cardinal lost 45 to 6 against Miami, lost 35 to 7 against Duke, beat Georgia Tech 34 to 27, and lost to Wake Forest 57 to 3.

Quarterback Davis Warren leads the Cardinal offense. This year, Warren is 73 for 122 (59%) with 1,207 passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, and 10 sacks taken. On the ground, the Stanford quarterback has 19 attempts for -34 yards (sacks included) with 0 rushing scores.

Why the Irish Feel Better About Themselves

Notre Dame survives adversity on the road. The Irish certainly did not play a perfect football game against the Tar Heels, but they dominated the second half on the ground after giving up an early kickoff return. Last year, the Indiana Hoosiers survived a trip to Iowa with a 5-point victory, and a late 3-point win at Penn State (7-6 record). I just want to remind Notre Dame fans that just because they only beat the Tar Heels by 11 points does not mean Notre Dame cannot beat BYU, Miami, or win a national championship.

The Fighting Irish rushing attack has arrived. I feel more confident about Notre Dame’s chances the rest of the season after the North Carolina game than I did before. The defense and special teams will be just fine, but the rushing attack (my biggest concern) took a major step forward in Chapel Hill.

Jonaz Walton has become a dominant running back and reminds me of a young Jadarian Price with his style of rushing, physicality, and jump-cutting abilities, while Nolan James Jr. continues to impress, and Aneyas Williams could fit better in the No. 3 running back position on the depth chart.

On Saturday, the true freshman Walton had 23 carries for 120 yards (5.2 yards per carry), James Jr. had 9 carries for 65 yards (7.2 yards per carry), and Williams had 8 carries for 42 yards (5.3 yards per carry).

Chris Ash’s defense finds motivation to improve this week. Notre Dame fans should not be too worried about last week’s defensive performance. Yes, there were mistakes, but the unit only allowed 285 total yards on the road, including just 77 rushing yards at 3.3 yards per carry. They also added two interceptions, with Tae Johnson and Jason Onye still sidelined. It was not ideal, but on the bright side, Bill Belichick might have exposed some weaknesses the Irish will be better prepared for now against BYU and Miami.

Head-to-Head Matchups

Notre Dame Offense vs. Stanford Defense: The Fighting Irish offense is averaging 428 yards per matchup, while the Cardinal defense is allowing 459 yards per game.

I think Mike Denbrock’s offense could score the most points it has all season this Saturday. Stanford allowed 45 points to Miami and 57 points to Wake Forest. Stanford’s defense is terrible, and this will be Notre Dame’s last “expected victory” before they face top-ten BYU.

Notre Dame has the advantage in this matchup.

Advantage: Notre Dame

Stanford Offense vs. Notre Dame Defense: The Cardinal offense is averaging 337 yards per contest, while the Notre Dame defense allows 216 yards per game.

After giving up a lot of points last week, this Irish defense will be looking to shut out the Stanford Cardinal in South Bend. With everyone talking about potential weaknesses, I believe Chris Ash’s group is going to take it out on Stanford. The Cardinal have struggled to move the football all season, and this weekend will be no different.

Notre Dame still has the clear advantage in this category.

Advantage: Notre Dame

Special Teams: Spencer Porath is 6 for 7 this fall, with his longest make at 52 yards. Conversely, Stanford’s Emmet Kenney is 5 for 7, with his longest conversion at 43 yards.

There is no distinct advantage on special teams.

Advantage: Notre Dame

The Prediction

This article has been a lot of recapping the Notre Dame-North Carolina matchup while discussing how the Irish can improve before ranked matchups during the second half of the season. All Irish fans understand that any program can walk into South Bend to upset the Irish, as evidenced by the past two decades of Notre Dame football and Stanford’s upset of the Irish in 2022.

However, if this game is close, then the Fighting Irish have bigger problems. I want to see the Irish defense not allow a touchdown against Stanford and completely dominate their opponent.

On offense, the Irish must continue to keep the ground game rolling with Walton and James Jr. Through the air, I would like to see other players continue to get involved besides Jordan Faison and Micah Gilbert. Notre Dame is going to need players like Jaden Greathouse, Cooper Flanagan, Matt Jeffery, and James Flanigan to become more involved if the Irish want to become a national championship team.

I have the Irish winning by 53 points, before an epic top-ten showdown with the BYU Cougars in Provo, Utah.

Prediction: Notre Dame 56 Stanford 3