“We were not ready to play.”
Those were some of the first words head coach Tavita Pritchard’s said in the post-game press conference after Stanford’s (2-4, 1-3 ACC) 58-7 loss to No. 3 Notre Dame (6-0). In the last two games alone, the Cardinal have been outscored 115-10 by their opponents.
Saturday’s road loss in South Bend, Ind. also extends Stanford football’s road losing streak to 14 games, tied for the worst in the FBS. It also marks the largest margin of defeat for Stanford all-time in 40 meetings against Notre Dame.
Pritchard’s description was truly fitting of a performance that immediately went sideways. On the first offensive snap of the game, Notre Dame senior defensive lineman Boubacar Traore was left unblocked on the way to a strip sack of Cardinal quarterback Davis Warren. Traore would finish the game with not only a sack and forced fumble, but an interception as well.
That instant turnover allowed Notre Dame sophomore running back Nolan James Jr. to find the end zone only four plays later. A passing touchdown from Notre Dame’s junior quarterback C.J. Carr later in the first quarter would give the Fighting Irish an early 14-point lead. On the other hand, Stanford’s next three offensive drives sputtered amidst incompletions and an anemic running effort. The Cardinal would finish with only 58 total rushing yards.
The only bright spot in the first quarter was a three-and-out forced by the Stanford defense on Notre Dame’s second drive, including a near-interception by junior linebacker Sam Mattingly. He would lead the defense on the day with a career-high 11 total tackles.
Despite the NBC broadcast announcers both referencing the 2022 upset of Notre Dame and the famous 2007 upset of USC, there was no miracle waiting for the Cardinal in the second quarter. The Fighting Irish piled on the scoring with a 97-yard rushing touchdown by freshman Jonaz Walton, a 33-yard rushing touchdown by James, another C.J. Carr touchdown and a field goal to bring the halftime score to 37-0.
The third quarter saw a slightly improved showing, as Notre Dame was not only stopped on their opening drive, but Stanford also played with more composure and cleaned up a streak of penalties that they suffered late in the first half. This eventually allowed Warren and senior wide receiver Caden High to connect on an explosive 52-yard pass, setting up a Benji Blackburn touchdown on the next play for the only score of the day.
The offense would run only 9 more plays for the remainder of the game. The 202 yards of total offense produced by Stanford paled in comparison to Notre Dame’s 598, with Warren going 12 for 22 passing before being relieved in the waning minutes for backup Charlie Mirer. Notre Dame likewise made substitutions as they scored 14 more in the fourth quarter.
Penalties and other self-inflicted errors were both highlighted as issues by Pritchard in the postgame press conference.
“We have to find a way to stop helping the other team … whether it was penalties, or mental errors, missed assignments,” Pritchard said.
Stanford will have an opportunity to clean up those errors and get the offense running again against FCS opponent Elon (4-3, 2-2 CAA) on Oct. 17 at Stanford Stadium, followed by another home game against NC State (3-3, 1-2 ACC) on Oct. 23.