Notre Dame Football Summary: The Irish easily defeated Stanford 49-7

It was a long game for a long time. Notre Dame rebounded from a bye to beat the Stanford Cardinal 49-7.

For the Irish it all started slowly and ominously. After forcing a punt on the first 6-yard drive, the Irish defense was pushed down the field to the goal. Although it looked like a valiant performance, the Cardinal hit the ball into the end zone (according to the referee), and there was no review from the replay booth.

Let's continue…

Notre Dame responded to the Stanford touchdown with a methodical 12-play, 75-yard drive that featured as good a mix of run and pass as any drive we've seen from the Irish this season. It ended with a Riley Leonard touchdown run — but Leonard's day was just heating up.

Notre Dame scored two more touchdowns in the first half – both through the air by Riley. The first went to Jayden Thomas on a really sharp 15-yard slant, and the second went to Kris Mitchell.

Notre Dame took a 21-7 lead into halftime, but it actually felt bigger as the defense began to get a handle on the Cardinal offense and quarterback Ashton Daniels.

The Irish forced a fumble on Stanford's first drive of the second half, and Jadarian Price made them pay… the price… with a 16-yard touchdown run to make the Irish 28-7. Notre Dame kept a stranglehold on Stanford's offense for the remainder of the third quarter. The Cardinal's next three drives consisted of 14 plays for 10 yards.

However, the Irish turned each of their next possessions into touchdowns. Jeremiyah Love scored on a 39-yard run and Leonard found Eli Raridon for a 5-yard touchdown reception. There was a major weather delay due to a lightning strike, but the third touchdown came on a 19-yard run by Aneyas Williams as they returned to the game and the score was 49-7.

Riley Leonard did not play after the weather delay. The Irish QB was 16-22 for 229 yards and three touchdowns while only running the ball six times for 31 yards. Leonard took over for Steve Angeli in the fourth quarter, but it was an impressive day for him.

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