Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541687
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM DECEMBER 2025 23 0 Points scored for eight of Notre Dame's 12 opponents in the first quarter during this season after the Irish blanked the Cardinal. The Irish allowed only 27 points in the first quarter in their 12 games. 2.9 Yards per rush for Stanford, which jumps to 3.5 when excluding 2 sacks for 13 yards. The scouting report on the Cardinal's offense was simple: If they can't run, they can't win. Stanford couldn't run, and redshirt freshman quarterback Elijah Brown averaged 5.5 yards pass per attempt in a one-dimensional offense. 3 Quarterback pressures for true freshman linebacker Madden Faraimo, tying for the team lead with redshirt sophomore linebacker Jaiden Aus- berry. Faraimo may need to fill a bigger role moving forward with sophomore Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (knee) out for the season. 4 Plays on the ball made by sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore: 1 in- terception and 3 passes broken up. He was also credited with 2 defensive stops (tackles that result in a failure for the offense) and a quarterback pressure on his lone pass-rush rep for good measure. The best cornerback in college football stuffed the stat sheet at Stanford. 4.1 Yards per attempt for quarterbacks targeting Moore this season. Stanford averaged 1.2 when throwing at No. 15. 5 Trips to the red zone ended in touchdowns for Notre Dame. The only ex- ception was its final drive, which ended when the clock expired (though if there were 40-plus seconds left in the game, it would have ended in a field goal attempt). The point, though, is that Notre Dame played a game without short-yardage failures. 7 Tackles for junior linebacker Drayk Bowen, including a sack that he split with redshirt freshman defensive tackle Cole Mullins. Bowen led the Irish in defensive stops in Week 14 as well with 4. 9 Receiving yards allowed by Moore on 7 targets, all on a fourth-quarter touchdown reception that was very important to some people (Notre Dame was a 32.5-point favorite) but not to the outcome of the game. He allowed zero — zero — receiving yards on his 6 other targets, many of which occurred in the first half. It was the most Moore had been targeted since Week 1 at Miami. 21 Total touchdowns for junior running back Jeremiyah Love this season, which is a new Notre Dame record. Jerome Bettis Sr. was the previous record-holder with 20 in 1991, and in third place is Love's 2024 season with 19. Love also matched the program record of 18 rushing touchdowns, previously achieved by Audric Estimé in 2023. 54 Yards gained by junior wide receiver Jordan Faison on his incredible third-quarter reception, coming down with the football in double cover- age. Faison finished the game with 3 receptions for 68 yards and 1 touchdown. 84 Receiving yards for junior safety Luke Talich on his fake punt touch- down reception, which puts him ninth in receiving yardage on Notre Dame this season through 12 games. Per Notre Dame media relations, it is the longest reception by a defensive player for the Irish from scrimmage since 1955. Dave Waymer, who played much of his career at safety for the Irish, was playing wide receiver for Notre Dame in 1977 and scored on a 68-yard recep- tion from Joe Montana in a 69-14 victory over Georgia Tech. 524 Yards of total offense for Notre Dame, which is its third-highest total of the season behind Sept. 27 at Arkansas (641) and Sept. 20 versus Purdue (535). 100 Percent conversion rate for Notre Dame on fourth down, which had been a struggle for the Irish this season. They entered the game tied for 87th in college football at 50.0 percent, but went 3 of 3 against the Cardinal. 1135.6 Pass efficiency rating for redshirt junior defensive end Joshua Burnham after he went 1 of 1 for 84 yards with a touchdown against Stanford. And yes, that would be a Notre Dame record if he threw enough passes to qualify. Burnham is the first Notre Dame defensive lineman since at least 1955 to throw a passing touchdown, per Notre Dame media relations. BY THE NUMBERS BY JACK SOBLE 40 Receiving yards for red- shirt junior running back JADARIAN PRICE, nearly doubling his season total (it was 47 through 11 games). The biggest knock on Price in the 2026 NFL Draft will be his pass catching, and he answered that question in Week 14 by reaching out for the grab, keeping his feet and navigating his way to the pylon on his 12-yard touchdown reception. He also caught a 14-yard wheel route on fourth-and-3. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL