The Notre Dame football team would have never admitted it to the public, but the talk among the fanbase all week was that the game against Stanford was little more than an extra week of practice before taking on BYU.
Outside of a game against North Carolina, the Irish have been a buzzsaw against undermanned teams, and Saturday afternoon's 58-7 win over their old rival was no different. It's hard to name anyone who didn't play very, very well in the blowout. Still, I'll do my best.
Winner: Jonaz Walton sets a freshman record for Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish have had a bit of a revolving door at running back this year, but the team looks like it has a three-headed monster at the position after true freshman Jonaz Walton was "the man" on Saturday afternoon.
Walton was electric, running for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 13 carries (13.9 yards per carry) He also had 2 catches for 28 yards. Walton announced his presence with authority in the second quarter when Notre Dame was only up 14-0, when he uncorked a 97-yard touchdown run. His 183 yards were a school record for freshmen and Walton set himself up nicely for more playing time the rest of the way.
Loser: Aneyas Williams keeps fading in the running back race
Aneyas Williams showed he's still a very useful weapon for the Irish, but it seems more and more obvious that he's the third option out of the backfield after entering the season as the odds-on favorite to be the starter.
While he did have a very nice 70 yard catch on a pretty wheel route that went for a touchdown, he only logged 7 carries for 28 yards on the ground. That puts him behind Walton's 13 carries and Nolan James Jr.'s 10 carries for 73 yards and 2 TDs. Even true freshman Javian Osborne had a better day, taking 6 carries for 31 yards and a TD.
Winner: Boubacar Traore set the tone for Notre Dame's defense
Defensive lineman Boubacar Traore made the first big play for the Irish defense on the first play of the game after the opening kickoff when he recorded a strip sack of Cardinal QB Davis Warren. He then added to his legend when he dropped back into coverage in the second quarter to pick off Warren and put his personal stamp on the game.
The defensive lineman added another tackle in the game just for good measure.
Loser: Miami's many Heisman candidates
Miami was the talk of the town after they demolished Stanford 45-6. Darian Mensah completed 27 of 30 passes for 401 yards and 5 touchdowns. Malachi Toney had 12 catches for 234 yards and 3 TDs.
Neither performance looks that special when you consider what the Irish did to the Cardinal, and they spread the ball around way more than Miami did earlier in the season. CJ Carr didn't have the same kind of numbers, but only because Notre Dame didn't pad his stats the way the Hurricanes did.
Winner: Noah Grubbs makes the most of his opportunity
The backup quarterback for Notre Dame wasn't called on to do much in the blowout over Stanford, but he still showed something, as he completed 5 of 7 passes for 56 yards. Saturday's action was the most Noah Grubbs has gotten in a month, when he threw 11 passes against Rice.
If CJ Carr goes pro this winter, the race will be on to figure out who replaces him. Noah Grubbs will have the inside track, so his performances, even in garbage time, are big for him and his development.
Winner: Notre Dame pass catchers
No one on Notre Dame pulled a Malachi Toney against Stanford, but that was mainly because they simply didn't need to with the Irish running backs doing what they did on Saturday. While no one had a huge game, the running backs, wide receivers and tight ends combined for 19 catches for 237 yards and 3 TDs. If nothing else, they showed they can be a weapon as the schedule gets much tougher starting next week against BYU.
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