Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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42 OCT. 3, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD Miami visited Palo Alto and left with a 45-6 victory in what will, oddly enough, be one of two common opponents Mi- ami and Notre Dame both will face be- fore their rematch on Nov. 7 (the other is North Carolina). Mensah and Malachi Toney debuted as a QB-WR tandem, and they combined for 12 connections for 234 yards and 3 touchdowns. Those who watched the game actu- ally thought veteran quarterback Davis Warren played well in his first start with the Cardinal, but he only averaged 5.2 yards per attempt in a 21-of-41, 214- yard day. "They came in here and showed they're a really good football team," Pritchard said. "They played a good game. We missed the mark, especially early on and, you know, would have loved to have seen us play better early and see where that game goes. But we got to respond better to some of their scores and we didn't." Fifth-year linebacker Matt Rose was Stanford's leading tackler with 27 stops through three games. PHOTO COURTESY STANFORD ATHLETICS Todd D. Burlage: Notre Dame 42, Stanford 10 Continuing a familiar theme from the early portion of their schedule, the Irish play against a longtime rival which has fallen on hard times. Stanford has renewed hope for a program upswing this season under first-year head coach and former program quarterback Tavita Pritchard. But with limited NIL re- sources and no winning seasons since 2020 (4-2), it's a tall mountain to climb. Stanford has a history of upsets over Notre Dame in this long rivalry. But the Irish win their fourth straight in the series and claim the Legends Trophy for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. Steve Downey: Notre Dame 56, Stanford 3 The Cardinal struggled badly against its first two Power Four opponents this season, getting outscored 80-13 by Miami and Duke. Stanford averaged only 243.5 yards and 6.5 points in those games, which likely means it will have a major problem on its hands against a Notre Dame defense that was allowing only 193.0 yards and 7.7 points per game through three contests. The Cardinal's best offensive path runs through Micah Ford, a physical running back capable of keeping the offense on schedule. However, the Irish have been particularly dominant against the run, surrendering 58.3 yards per contest. To make matters worse, the Cardinal will play at Wake Forest Oct. 3 and then have to make another cross-country trip to Notre Dame one week later. The Irish will win this one going away. Eric Hansen: Notre Dame 52, Stanford 0 The Cardinal makes its second consecutive cross-country trip in as many games and a third trek to the Eastern Time zone in a four-week stretch. Yet jet lag will feel minimal compared with Stanford's larger problem: It is one of five FBS teams at the quarter-pole of the season ranked in the bottom 15 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The only area of statistical respectability early in the season for Stanford was an offense that didn't turn the ball over often. That might be the saving grace Oct. 10 at Notre Dame Stadium in a series that's been very one-sided in recent years. After the Cardinal had its way with seven wins in nine games from 2009-17, the Irish have won six of the past seven. Make it seven of the past eight, in the final tuneup for Notre Dame before a big road test at BYU. Tyler James: Notre Dame 48, Stanford 6 Stanford should feel lucky that Rice is on Notre Dame's schedule this sea- son. Otherwise, the Cardinal might be the lousiest opponent the Irish will play this fall. Stanford is still searching for an identity under first-year head coach Tavita Pritchard. What's clear is Stanford has a lot of work to do to become a competitive ACC program. Notre Dame should be able to score with relative ease, and the Cardinal will have a hard time finding the end zone. The Irish passing game should light up the scoreboard before making way for the ground game. Kyle Kelly: Notre Dame 49, Stanford 6 Stanford is in Year 1 of the Tavita Pritchard era and, like a few other pro- grams on Notre Dame's schedule, the Cardinal is also rebuilding its roster. Irish fans probably remember all too well a previous rebuilding Stanford team beating the Irish in South Bend in 2022. That upset happened in primetime in Year 1 of the Marcus Freeman era. However, there should be almost no concern that it will happen. Notre Dame will beat Stanford for the fourth straight year with little trouble. Mike Singer: Notre Dame 45, Stanford 7 A bad Cardinal team came to South Bend and beat the Irish a few years ago, but this Notre Dame team is far superior to the one that fell to Stanford 16-14 four years ago. Give me the Irish to win big with Stanford getting on the board with a late touchdown. Jack Soble: Notre Dame 49, Stanford 0 Someday, the Cardinal might return to its glory days. That day does not appear to be coming anytime soon. A Saturday afternoon bloodbath is in store for Irish fans. Staff Predictions