Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541560
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 29, 2025 33 GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD Wright, who was one of only two Stanford players to intercept a pass through Week 12, believed the Cardinal took advantage "I think it was great," Wright said. "I think we got a lot of time to self-scout and a lot of time to go back and obviously re-evaluate ourselves. It's a long season. "There are obviously certain things that we do a lot of and other teams do a lot of. Us having the time to sit back and see things that we can improve on in all three phases was important." QUARTERBACK SWITCH Reich opted for a youth movement at quarterback earlier this month when he benched redshirt senior Ben Gulbranson in favor of redshirt freshman Elijah Brown. Gulbranson completed 148 of 260 passes for 1,813 yards with 9 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in nine starts for Stanford. Brown gave Stanford a bit of a spark late in a 35-20 loss to Pitt Nov. 1 He completed 10 of 14 throws for 108 yards with 1 touchdown after replacing Gulbranson. Brown then made his first career start at North Carolina Nov. 8. He finished with a passing line of 27-of-39 for 284 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception but was sacked nine times. Reich has described Brown as very in- stinctive and a very accurate passer. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Brown came to Stanford with a Rivals Industry Rank- ing of the No. 17 quarterback and No. 256 overall prospect in the 2024 class. The four-star recruit out of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei sat behind starting quarterback Ashton Daniels, who trans- ferred to Auburn in the offseason, then watched Gulbranson win the job to start this season after transferring into the program from Oregon State. "Sometimes big quarterbacks will come in and they're kind of forced to start their freshman year," Roush said. "That can be good, but sometimes it's hard on them. I think [Brown] having a year to kind of develop was great. Just kind of being able to learn under Ashton and under Ben. Now he's kind of able to come into his own, which is great to see." Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME AT STANFORD Date: Nov. 29, 2025 Site (Capacity): Stanford Stadium (50,424) Kickoff: 10:30 p.m. ET Television: ESPN Radio: This game can be heard on Notre Dame IMG affiliates. Series Facts: Notre Dame leads 24-14. The Fighting Irish won the last meeting 49-7 in South Bend on Oct. 12, 2024. Head coaches: Stanford — Frank Reich (4-7, 1st season); Notre Dame — Marcus Freeman (42-12, 4th season). Noting Stanford: The Cardinal entered Week 13 ranked No. 32 in the FBS in rushing defense, al- lowing just 123.2 yards per game, but that might be a reflection of poor rushing offenses in the ACC. Seven other ACC programs were ranked ahead of the Cardinal … Stanford recorded just 3 interceptions through 10 games … Linebacker Matt Rose tallied 33 more tackles than any of his teammates through 10 games. His 8.3 tackles per game were tied for 40th in the FBS. 2025 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET)/Result Aug. 31 at Miami L, 27-24 Sept. 13 Texas A&M L, 41-40 Sept. 20 Purdue W, 56-30 Sept. 27 at Arkansas W, 56-13 Oct. 4 Boise State W, 28-7 Oct. 11 NC State W, 36-7 Oct. 18 Southern Cal W, 34-24 Nov. 1 at Boston College W, 25-10 Nov. 8 Navy W, 49-10 Nov. 15 at Pittsburgh W, 37-15 Nov. 22 Syracuse W, 70-7 Nov. 29 at Stanford (ESPN) 10:30 p.m. 2025 STANFORD SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET)/Results Aug. 23 at Hawai'i L, 23-20 Sept. 6 at BYU L, 27-3 Sept. 13 Boston College W, 30-20 Sept. 20 at Virginia L, 48-20 Sept. 27 San Jose State W, 30-29 Oct. 11 at SMU L, 34-10 Oct. 18 Florida State W, 20-13 Oct. 25 at Miami L, 42-7 Nov. 1 Pittsburgh L, 35-20 Nov. 8 at North Carolina L, 20-15 Nov. 22 California W, 31-10 Nov. 29 Notre Dame (ESPN) 10:30 p.m. Redshirt freshman quarterback Elijah Brown made his first career start at North Carolina Nov. 8, and completed 27 of 39 passes for 284 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception but was sacked nine times. PHOTO COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA ATHLETICS