Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 3, 2026 43 GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD In the early stages of a rebuild, Pritchard tried to keep his tone upbeat after the Miami game. Silver linings — such as Warren's zero interceptions and a positive turnover margin through three games — will help Stanford get through a season that probably won't feature many outwardly positive moments. "I'm excited for what we're going to learn from this and how we're going to grow," Pritchard said. "That's the mes- sage to our team right now, is what can we learn and what are the space we can grow in? And, again, I'll just finish by saying that's a good football team and we didn't play as well as we could have to- night. That's what we're excited about." In his first head coaching opportunity at any level, Pritchard is also excited about the chance to turn his alma mater around. Pritchard coached at Stanford for more than a decade, climbing from a volunteer assistant role in 2010 to of- fensive coordinator in 2022. He then spent three seasons as quarterbacks coach with the Washington Command- ers, where Jayden Daniels earned 2024 Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Before that, Pritchard played quarter- back at Stanford from 2006-09, starting all 12 games in 2008. He was replaced in 2009 by Luck himself, and 17 years later, Luck deemed him the right person to lead a new era for the Cardinal. "A number of features," Luck said when asked by The Athletic why Pritchard was his choice. "His NFL experience with Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota in Washington. He has worked under some awesome head coaches like Dan Quinn — and cer- tainly here, with David Shaw and Jim Harbaugh. His ability to connect with people. He is a people person, a great motivator. "He has a vision for a style of play that is physical, that is fast, that I think will lend itself very well. His experience here at Stanford, both as a player and as a coach previously — he'll best unlock the superpowers of our young men." Luck is still involved in the day-to- day operations of Stanford football. He joked that he throws "40 interceptions a day" in practice, tossing balls to defen- sive backs during individual drills. He's also a significant fundraiser for a program he admitted has fallen behind in the NIL and revenue-sharing game. But with enough work, he believes it can catch up. "I'm proud of the work the team has put in so far," Luck told The Athletic. "I am proud of our recruiting class this past year. I think we have the opportu- nity to build a great class this year as well. And let's roll the ball out and see what happens." ✦ Three Things To Know About Stanford 1. Hardship Chose Stanford Quarterback Davis Warren, And He Transcended It If sixth-year Cardinal quarterback Davis Warren had never thrown a pass wearing a Stanford uniform in 2026, he would have already achieved plenty in football and in life, given the adversity that came his way. It started when the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Michigan transfer was a junior in high school and was diagnosed with acute my- eloid leukemia (AML). Months of chemo- therapy were successful to the point that he was able to skip a bone marrow transplant. But his road back from leukemia cut into his high school football career, and he fin- ished high school as a zero-star recruit. Michigan, then coached by Jim Harbaugh, gave Warren a chance to walk on in 2021. Then as a backup in 2023, he fashioned a minus-40.0 pass efficiency rating in three cameos during the Wolverines' national title season. The next year he won the start- ing job and made nine starts, including a 13-10 upset of an Ohio State team that re- bounded to win the College Football Playoff national championship. But in Warren's next start, he tore his ACL in Michigan's 19-13 ReliaQuest Bowl victory over Alabama at the end of the 2024 sea- son. That wiped out his entire 2025 season. He then transferred to Stanford and won the starting job. In his debut with the Cardinal on Aug. 29, Warren threw for a career-high 310 yards and a TD in a 37-27 victory over Hawaii. 2. Stanford Has A Long — And Bumpy — Road Life in the ACC means frequent flier miles, and only Hawaii among the 138 FBS schools will log more travel miles for road games in 2026 than Stanford's 21,755. That includes five trips to the Eastern Time Zone, including its Oct. 10 matchup against Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. And those five cross-coun- try treks all are compressed in a nine-week span. Last season, the Cardinal was the only FBS program to play in five different time zones. How is all of this playing out in real time? Heading into an Oct. 3 road trip to Wake Forest, Stanford was riding a school-record 12-game road losing streak. It could reach 14 in South Bend. The Cardinal's other remaining road tests this season are at Louisville, Virginia Tech and arch-rival Cal. 3. Charlie Mirer Is Back It took the son of former Notre Dame standout quarterback Rick Mirer until the last game of his senior season to see his first game action in a Cardinal uniform. And he certainly made the best of it. Charlie Mirer came in late in Notre Dame's 49-20 victory at Stanford and completed 2 of 3 passes for 22 yards and 1 touchdown and ran for 23 yards on 2 carries. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., product opted to return for a fifth season. He be- gan the season No. 3 on the depth chart behind starter Davis Warren and freshman backup Michael Mitchell Jr. — Eric Hansen Quarterback Davis Warren, a transfer from Michigan, earned a well-above-average 79.6 PFF passing grade his first three games, despite pedestrian numbers. PHOTO COURTESY STANFORD ATHLETICS