Stanford heads to South Bend this weekend with a familiar task and a steep one: try to knock off No. 3 Notre Dame in the annual rivalry game and find a way to breathe life back into a season that just took a hard hit.
The Cardinal are 2-3 overall and 1-3 in ACC play after last weekend’s 57-3 loss at Wake Forest, and they’ll walk into a game where the numbers lean heavily the other way. Notre Dame is 5-0, ranked third in the latest AP poll, and bringing a balanced offense led by quarterback C.J.
Carr. Through five games, Carr has 13 touchdowns, a 71% completion percentage and a quarterback rating of 90.4.
That attack is backed by what some view as the nation’s best defense. The Fighting Irish are holding opponents to 216.4 yards per game, which is the lowest mark in the FBS.
Stanford’s challenge starts with getting its own offense back on track. Senior quarterback Davis Warren was coming off a career game against Georgia Tech before throwing his first interception of the season against Wake Forest and finishing with a below-average QBR of 40.9. After managing only three points last week, the Cardinal need a cleaner, more productive outing if they’re going to make this interesting.
Wide receiver Zion Robinson says the group believes it’s close to sorting things out. “We’ve gotten more connected, figured out what we need to do better from last weekend, and we’re ready to roll,” he said.
Robinson has been a steady spark for Stanford in key moments. He had a 61-yard catch against Georgia Tech and opened the season with a 48-yard reception against Hawaii.
The freshman also spoke about his relationship with Warren, which extends beyond the field. “That’s my big bro,” Robinson said Wednesday after practice, adding that Warren “preaches off and on the field … He’s been a great person to learn from in both ways.” Robinson said Stanford should be ready for Notre Dame’s man-to-man coverage this weekend, noting that “when opportunity comes, you got to make the most of it.”
The Cardinal’s ground game has been another problem area. Senior Sedrick Irvin and junior Micah Ford have had trouble finding room, and Stanford has only 444 rushing yards this season compared with 1239 through the air.
Offensive coordinator Terry Heffernan said the staff has tried everything to jump-start that part of the offense, saying they’ve left “no stone unturned.” He added that they’ve been “challenging [the] ball carriers to create more with the ball, our blockers to sustain.”
Third down has also been a major focus in practice. Stanford is converting just 34.3 percent of the time, and Heffernan said the best fix starts earlier in the series. “We’ve got to be better on first down,” he noted, saying that “that was really our focus on our Tuesday practice.”
There is at least some recent history to lean on. Stanford last upset Notre Dame in 2022, when it snapped an 11-game FBS losing streak with a 16-14 win in South Bend.
Heffernan was the offensive line coach on that staff and is 2-1 against the Fighting Irish in his career. “It really is a fun place to play,” he said.
Stanford enters the matchup as a 38-point underdog, but the Cardinal will try to tap into that old upset energy again when they face a Notre Dame team that has looked every bit like a top-three contender.