The opening kickoff set the tone for Stanford football’s (4-8, 3-5 ACC) loss to the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-2) on Saturday night. The kick bounced off a Notre Dame player’s helmet and traveled only 31 yards, giving the Irish favorable field position from the start. Notre Dame dominated, scoring on four straight drives to extend its streak over Stanford to three games.
The first drive for the Fighting Irish was powered by Heisman-hopeful junior running back Jeremiyah Love, who accounted for 54 of Notre Dame’s 66 yards on the opening series. Love punched in the first touchdown of the game, marking his 21st touchdown of the season and breaking NFL Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis’ single-season program record of 20. Love’s night slowed shortly afterward, as he was played cautiously following a rib injury sustained on Notre Dame’s second offensive drive.
Love’s injury did not slow the Fighting Irish, who scored on the next three straight possessions for 28 unanswered points, including a touchdown on a special teams fake punt. Stanford finally got on the board with 2:43 left in the half, settling for a 39-yard field goal to make it 28-3. On the next offensive drive for Stanford, redshirt freshman quarterback Elijah Brown threw an interception at Stanford’s own 45-yard line with 1:27 remaining, giving Notre Dame a short field.
The Irish capitalized once again, stretching the lead to 35-3 heading into halftime.
“[Notre Dame] is a good football team,” said Frank Reich, the interim head coach and incoming senior advisor. “They are very well coached, and I have a lot of respect for coach [Marcus] Freeman.”
The Cardinal made adjustments after the half, but the deficit was too large to overcome, as the night ended in a 49-20 loss. There were still bright moments for Stanford’s seniors, who delivered notable contributions in their final game with the program.
Leading the Cardinal in receiving, senior tight end Sam Roush hauled in four receptions for 73 yards.
“I wasn’t able to experience a ton of success this year or a ton of success in my career at Stanford, but this year is the first step forward since I’ve been here,” Roush said. “I’m really excited for the future of Stanford football.”
One of Roush’s receptions came from redshirt junior Charlie Mirer, who made his collegiate debut in Stanford’s final possession. The catch also marked Mirer’s first career completion. Mirer went on to finish 2-of-3 for 22 yards, capping the drive with his first career touchdown pass to redshirt freshman Marcus Brown for the first receiving touchdown of Brown’s career. Mirer’s appearance in the game for the Cardinal was particularly notable as his father, Rick Mirer, is one of the greatest quarterbacks to play for Notre Dame as he led the Fighting Irish to three bowl games from 1989 to 1992.
Putting aside the sour ending to the season, the seniors will be leaving The Farm with their heads held high.
“[Frank Reich] said in the locker room he’s not just doing this for coach [Andrew] Luck, but he’s doing it for us and the 25 seniors that walked today,” Roush said. “And we really appreciate being able to get the Axe back.”
Despite the loss in the season finale, this season marks the beginning of a turn toward a winning trajectory and a more competitive football program. As the year closes, Stanford finally ends a run of four consecutive 3-9 campaigns and four-straight losses in Big Game.