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Notre Dame football rolls into bowl season with Stanford blowout

By Oliver Vandervoort

Nov 25, 2023; Stanford, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Gi'Bran Payne (3) eludes the tackle of Stanford Cardinal inside linebacker Gaethan Bernadel (0) during the second quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2023; Stanford, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Gi'Bran Payne (3) eludes the tackle of Stanford Cardinal inside linebacker Gaethan Bernadel (0) during the second quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Notre Dame football team put an exclamation point on the finish to the regular season with a 30-point win over the Stanford Cardinals.

The Notre Dame football team doesn’t have a playoff spot to fight for. They almost certainly don’t have a New Year’s Six spot to play for either. But 10 wins is still on the table. And the Golden Domers showed they still want that in a blowout 56-23 win over the Stanford Cardinal.

Key Notre Dame football moment

The Fighting Irish started off the game looking a bit sluggish. There was a Sam Hartman fumble and a Sam Hartman interception that gave the Cardinal life. There was a defense that had problems stopping the run. There were some special teams gaffes that led to a 68-yard kick return. And there was a 16-14 deficit.

Needless to say, there were definitely some Notre Dame football fans who were a bit worried that Marcus Freeman’s guys were going to lay a massive egg to end the regular season and end up losing to a bad Stanford team that was really just playing out the string.

Then the Fighting Irish engineered a 10-play, 75 yard drive led mostly by its rushing attack (a rushing attack not used enough in 2023) that gave Notre Dame a 21-16 lead. They didn’t look back after that.

Eventually the lead great to 56-16 and finished 56-23 when the Cardinal scored a touchdown in garbage time. Not only was it a key moment in the game, but it should be a key moment for whatever bowl the team plays in. They found a way to get a consistent offense they’ve been looking for all season.

Run.the.ball.

Notre Dame football stats that matter

  • Audric Estime had his best day ever as a member of the Fighting Irish with 238 yards rushing and four touchdowns. It’s almost certainly not a coincidence that this is the first game since Estime was left off the Doak Walker Award semifinalists list.
  • Sam Hartman wrapped up a pretty disappointing regular season, all things considered. He finished 8-of-14 for 140 yards and 2 TDs, with 1 interception. It’s more how he finished the season that stands out. After throwing 14 TDs and 0 INTs in his first six games, he had just 11 touchdowns and 8 interceptions in his last six. Why things changed so dramatically is something Notre Dame football needs to examine in the offseason.

What’s next for Notre Dame football

At the moment it’s unclear who is next up for the Fighting Irish. They’ll wait and see how everything shakes out in the bowl picture. It still seems likely that Notre Dame football is gonna play LSU and Brian Kelly, but that’s not anywhere near official yet.

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