With Leonard Moore dealing with a concussion and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa dealing with a thumb injury, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has an easy decision to make for the Stanford game.
Neither Moore nor Viliamu-Asa should play unless they are absolutely and totally needed against the Cardinal. If the Fighting Irish need either one of them against their old rival, things are going very, very poorly.
Notre Dame is a nearly 40-point favorite over Stanford on Monday afternoon, according to FanDuel. It's the biggest spread the Irish have had over any team all season long. While they didn't cover against North Carolina this past weekend, they've posted 15 straight double-digit wins. There's no indication the game on Saturday morning will be any different.
Moore missed the game against the Tar Heels, and his absence may have been felt as Chris Ash's defense looked as off-kilter as it has all season. Still, while UNC isn't one of the better teams in the country, it's arguably on another level than a Stanford squad that lost 45-6 to Miami, 35-7 to Duke, and 57-3 to Wake Forest.
Notre Dame football should save Leonard Moore and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa for BYU showdown
Stanford isn't just dead last in the ACC in points allowed per game (38.2), but it's last by a wide margin. Louisville has the next-worst defense, allowing 29.2 points per game. The Cardinal's defense is plenty bad, but today's discussion is whether Notre Dame's defense can handle Stanford's offense without Moore or Viliamu-Asa.
The Cardinal are also dead last in the conference in scoring per game, averaging 17.4 in 2026. Stanford's 336.6 yards per game on offense isn't last tbecause ofClemson, but it's second to last in the conference.
Throwing the ball is the one area where the Cardinal has had any success at all, though it still sits just in the middle of the pack as far as yards through the air per game. Notre Dame should be able to win the game without Moore or KVA on the field.
Letting arguably the best defensive back in the sport rest another week, while also letting a linebacker analysts believe could be a first-round pick sit and watch, isn't about Notre Dame winning without them. The real reason to let them sit out Stanford is to make sure they're ready to go next week against BYU.
The game against the Cougars is the first real test for the Fighting Irish as the schedule heats up. It's a much bigger deal that Notre Dame go to Provo as close to full strength as possible. Risking Leonard Moore or Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa getting worse in a game the team should win by 30 points without them isn't worth the gamble with so much at stake after this Saturday.
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