Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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34 NOV. 29, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD Roush, who is second on the team in receptions (43), receiving yards (458) and receiving touchdowns (2) behind wide receiver CJ Williams in every cat- egory, likes what he's seen out of Brown. "I'd say decisive, which is something that you're looking for in a quarterback," Roush said when he was asked to de- scribe Brown in one word. "He's got a real pretty spiral, good ball placement. He's got really good ball placement. That's something that we've all noticed." STILL FIGHTING ON 'D' Stanford's defense has to hang its hat on persistence. The Cardinal allowed 29.1 points and 407.7 yards per game through the first 10 games of the 2025 season. Only two teams at the FBS level al- lowed more passing yards per game than Stanford (284.5) entering Week 13: fel- low ACC programs SMU (298.6) and North Carolina State (299.9). But Stan- ford's pass defense allowed the Cardinal to keep the final score respectable in a 35-20 loss to Pitt with a pair of second- half interceptions. "As a defense, we're just playing the play," sophomore cornerback Brandon Nicholson said. "We talked about that a lot within our program. We're not play- ing for the scoreboard necessarily. Every play we're going out there and trying to do our best to execute the play and execute our responsibilities. "It doesn't really matter the score for us. We just have to go out there and just do the best we can and really shut down the offense. That's our goal every time we step on the field. It's a testament to our defense getting those turnovers that late in the game that we're going to play until the end of the game every time." That the scoreboard doesn't dictate the intensity with which Stanford's de- fense plays is a positive reflection on the culture Reich is helping establish in Stanford's program. Whoever inherits this Stanford team in the offseason will find plenty of chal- lenges ahead, but he will find himself leading a program that continued to push forward rather than fold in a tu- multuous year. ✦ 1. Stanford Is Led By A Former NFL Head Coach, But Not For Long Back in March, Stanford general manager Andrew Luck had to essentially punt on the 2025 season. Luck fired then-head coach Troy Taylor after an investigation into his al- leged mistreatment of female staff members. It was the first known instance of a general manager firing a head coach in college football. "After continued consideration, it is evident to me that our program needs a reset," Luck said at the time. "In consultation with university leadership, I no longer believe that Coach Taylor is the right coach to lead our football program." Luck — who, of course, went 3-0 against Notre Dame as Stanford's quarter- back and was drafted No. 1 overall in 2012 by the Indianapolis Colts — then had to hire a head coach at a time in the calendar when doing so successfully was next to impossible. Which is why, of course, he chose not to do that. Luck named Frank Reich, his old boss in Indianapolis, Stanford's head coach for the 2025 season on a strictly interim basis. The Cardinal will hire a perma- nent replacement for 2026 sometime after facing Notre Dame. Reich, who had never been a college coach before, was 3-7 through Week 12 in his lone season. 2. The Cardinal Cannot Score Stanford averaged 17.5 points per game through Week 12, which ranked 129th in the country and the third-lowest mark in the Power Four. Only Oklahoma State (14.3) and Wisconsin (12.0) were worse. Why can't the Cardinal score? Several reasons, beginning with its offensive line. Stanford's 50.6 PFF pass-blocking grade is 128th in the country and, again, the third-worst in the Power Four (Virginia Tech, Houston). Stanford has allowed 38 sacks this season, which is tied for 132nd in the country and second-worst in the Power Four (tied with South Carolina, ahead of Auburn). Quarterback play is another issue. Stanford's QB1 for most of the season was veteran Ben Gulbranson, whom Notre Dame fans may remember from his hopeless outing for Oregon State in the 2023 Sun Bowl. He was benched prior to Week 11, when redshirt freshman Elijah Brown started his first game against North Carolina. How did that go? Well, he threw the ball well (27-of-39 passing for 284 yards). Unfortunately for the Cardinal, he was sacked nine times. 3. Former Notre Dame Commit Is No. 1 WR CJ Williams committed to Notre Dame in August 2021, but he never played a down for the Fighting Irish. Shortly after Brian Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU and Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma for Southern Cal, Riley put the full-court press on Williams and he flipped to the Trojans. The Irish wound up signing only one wide receiver, Tobias Merriweather, in the 2022 class. Williams, meanwhile, played only one season at Southern Cal. He caught 4 passes for 34 yards as a true freshman before transferring to Wisconsin. His tenure with the Badgers was underwhelming as well, with 31 receptions for 396 yards in two seasons. With one year of eligibility remaining, Williams went to Stanford in search of a larger role. Finally, he found one. Williams is Stanford's clear No. 1 wide receiver, leading the Cardinal with 53 receptions for 659 yards and 5 touchdowns through Week 12. He'll finish his college career Nov. 29 against the school he was originally supposed to attend. — Jack Soble Former Notre Dame commit CJ Williams is thriving in his final collegiate season, leading Stanford in receiving with 53 catches for 659 yards and 5 touchdowns through 10 contests. PHOTO COURTESY STANFORD ATHLETICS Three Things To Know About Stanford