Notre Dame’s offense looks like it’s finding its edge at exactly the right time, and Stanford is walking into a matchup that could get ugly fast.
Mike Denbrock’s group just delivered its most complete showing of the season, and the numbers backed it up. The ground game controlled the action, CJ Carr played his cleanest game in a Notre Dame uniform, and the Irish rolled with balance.
Carr finished with 234 passing yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and added another score on the ground. Now comes another chance to keep that momentum humming against a Stanford defense that has been one of the country’s most vulnerable units.
There are a few individual battles that should tell the story.
At left tackle, sophomore Will Black is coming off the best performance of his first stretch as a starter. The 6-7, 316-pound lineman won the job this offseason after Anthonie Knapp moved to left guard, and the season has been a steady climb from flashes to real consistency.
Last week felt like the latest step forward, but Stanford’s Omar Staples is a different kind of test. Staples leads the Cardinal with 13 total pressures and ranks second with 1.5 sacks.
At 6-3 and 265 pounds, he has the size and movement skills that have bothered Black before. Wisconsin’s Sebastian Cheeks, a 6-3, 243-pound edge rusher, got after Black on a few pass-rushing snaps in the opener, though Black is now a far more seasoned player than he was back on September 6.
Out wide, Micah Gilbert has become the missing piece Notre Dame needed alongside Jordan Faison. The junior receiver has broken out in a big way, posting 18 catches for 368 yards and two touchdowns through five games while averaging 20.4 yards per grab.
The 6-2, 205-pound North Carolina native has clearly started to sync up with Carr, and Stanford’s secondary gives him a prime chance to keep it rolling. The Cardinal are 137th in the country in passing yards allowed and 110th in passing touchdowns allowed, and cornerback Leroy Bryant has been targeted 23 times already.
He has given up 15 catches for 232 yards and two touchdowns. Gilbert has been a problem for outside corners all season, and this matchup points in the same direction.
The run game also has every reason to keep building. When Notre Dame’s line wins up front and the play design stays creative, the backs have taken off.
Freshman Jonaz Walton led the way last week with 23 carries for 120 yards, and Aneyas Williams and Nolan James Jr. each averaged better than 5.0 yards per carry for the first time in 2026. That ground attack has been gaining steam over the past couple of weeks, and Stanford enters ranked 110th in the nation in yards per carry allowed.
In the battle for the Legend’s Trophy, that is a tough setup for the Cardinal.
The one defender who could make life harder for Notre Dame on the ground is middle linebacker Matt Rose, if he’s healthy enough to play. He’s the emotional center of that defense, and Stanford looked very different without him in its 57-3 loss to Wake Forest.
Even after missing that game, Rose still leads the team with 38 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and 20 run stops. If he’s out there, he’s the one Cardinal defender who can at least make Notre Dame earn its yards in both the run game and the passing game.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Offense Faces A New Test With Stanford And Trophy Stakes
After practice this week, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and several Notre Dame players spent time putting a spotlight on the small details that have helped the Irish keep their offense moving. Jordan Faison talked about the way defenses are spreading their attention, Jonaz Walton pointed to the confidence he picked up from the previous game, and Armel Mukam discussed the give-and-take along the defensive line as the group kept turning its focus toward Stanford.
There is more at stake than just another conference-style tune-up at Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish are looking at the rivalry game as a chance to reclaim the Legend's Trophy, and Denbrocks emphasis on receiver depth suggests the offense is still searching for the kind of balance that can carry over when the pressure rises. Boubacar Traore was among those around the practice field as Notre Dame continued preparing for a matchup that feels bigger than the calendar would suggest. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Defense Gets A Chance To Silence Growing Concern
Notre Dames defense has spent much of the season looking like the kind of unit that can carry a team through tight weekends and bigger-stage tests, but the conversation changed after it gave up 26 points against North Carolina. For a group that had been dominant early, it was a jolt and the sort of outing that can linger until the next chance to answer back.
Stanford offers that chance, and the matchup points directly at areas where Notre Dame should be able to reset the tone. The Cardinal have struggled to move the ball, especially on the ground, and their offensive line has had real trouble in pass protection, including at right tackle with Kahlil House. For the Irish, Boubacar Traores pressure production and a possible start for Jayden Sanders if Leonard Moore remains in concussion protocol give this one a clear defensive focus, with little margin for another letdown. [Read more 🡒]
Steve Angeli Reunion With Notre Dame Suddenly Looks Far From Certain
Steve Angelis path has taken another turn since he left Notre Dame for Syracuse, where he was expected to step in as the Oranges quarterback but instead ran into an early injury and then a rough stretch of play. After two shaky starts, Syracuse coach Fran Brown turned to Amari Odom, and the move paid off in a recent win that gave the Orange a different look at the position.
Brown still has not committed to keeping Odom in place, which leaves the door open for Angeli to work his way back into the job. If that happens, the quarterback reunion everyone assumed would wait until Syracuses 2026 meeting with Notre Dame could suddenly feel a lot less certain, and a lot more complicated for both sides. [Read more 🡒]