18 OCT. 17, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED
BY TYLER JAMES AND KYLE KELLY
A
drumbeat of explosive plays by
Notre Dame's running backs
provided the rhythm for a 58-7
home victory over Stanford in
Notre Dame Stadium.
It didn't matter if the Cardinal (2-4)
could hear or see the No. 3 Irish (6-0)
coming. Stanford stood little chance of
preventing the pain of big play after big
play in the battle for the Legends Trophy.
Notre Dame freshman running back
Jonaz Walton opened the second quarter
with a 97-yard touchdown run on his first
carry of the game. Sophomore running
back Nolan James Jr. ripped off a 31-yard
rushing touchdown on a third-and-2
later in the quarter. Then junior running
back Aneyas Williams shook a linebacker
and ran away from a safety on a 70-yard
touchdown reception from junior quar-
terback CJ Carr to wrap up Notre Dame's
first-half scoring with a 37-0 lead.
In the lone home game of October for
Notre Dame, the Irish made sure they
settled the game's outcome before the
Notre Dame band took the field for its
halftime performance. Notre Dame
didn't need explosive plays — which
eventually included five touchdowns of
at least 30 yards — to beat a poor Stanford
team that could barely muster any pro-
duction against Notre Dame's first-team
defense, but the ability to strike with long
scoring plays, especially out of the back-
GREEN EXPLOSION
Five touchdowns of 30 or more yards fuel
Notre Dame's 58-7 rout of Stanford
