Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547079
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 17, 2026 21 NOTRE DAME PASSING OFFENSE: B+ This was not the sharpest we've seen junior quarterback CJ Carr, which says more about the way Carr usually plays than the way he played against Stanford. Carr was nearly intercepted when he didn't see a lurking linebacker on a slant to senior wide re- ceiver Jaden Greathouse. He and his wideouts couldn't connect on a few contested deep balls, too. But when 14-of-20 passing for 181 yards (9.1 yards per attempt) with 3 touchdowns is an off game, you're doing something right. Notre Dame got Greathouse involved, with 3 re- ceptions for 30 yards and a score on a team-high 5 targets. It also generated a precious explosive play, with a 70-yard touchdown to junior running back Aneyas Williams. Williams found himself matched up on a linebacker, which is a matchup the Irish will take every day of the week and twice on Saturdays. Williams dusted his man off the line of scrim- mage and Carr made a perfect throw, allowing his target to make the catch on the run and outrace the deep safety to the end zone. Carr made an- other perfect throw in the third quarter to sopho- more wideout Elijah Burress for the NFL legacy's first college touchdown. NOTRE DAME RUSHING OFFENSE: A+ Speaking of explosives, welcome back, Jeremiyah Love. In a run that looked strikingly similar to Love's 98-yard touchdown in the 2024 College Football Playoff, freshman running back Jonaz Walton raced 97 yards for a score on his first carry. Senior tight end Cooper Flanagan and fifth-year center Ashton Craig made devastating second-level blocks on Stanford's linebackers, and once Walton cleared them, he was gone. Walton scored again from 40 yards out in the second half, showcasing his vision and explosive- ness. Sophomore running back Nolan James Jr. also found green grass for a 31-yard touchdown, mak- ing an exceptional cutback off another exceptional block by Craig. As a team, the Irish rushed for 361 yards on 47 carries for a season-high 7.7 yards per carry and 5 touchdowns. Also of note: Carr set his career high with 41 rushing yards, including a 14-yard keeper on a zone read that fooled the entire defense. That's signifi- cant, because it can help keep backside defensive ends honest and give the running backs more room moving forward. NOTRE DAME PASSING DEFENSE: A Back-to-back coverage busts from the first-team secondary that led to a passing touchdown in the third quarter dropped this grade from an A+ to an A. But this was, as expected, a bounce-back perfor- mance from the pass defense. It starts with an inexplicable protection mis- hap that led to an unblocked Boubacar Traore bearing down on Stanford quarterback Davis War- ren's blind side. You can probably guess how that ended. Traore was responsible for 2 takeaways, first the strip sack and later an interception on an equally inexplicable throw by Warren. The senior defensive end dropped into coverage and read the quarterback's eyes like a defensive back. Notre Dame played without junior cornerback Leonard Moore, but his replacement, sophomore Jayden Sanders, rose to the occasion. He broke up 2 passes, including one on third down. That brings us to Notre Dame's most important pass defense development: Stanford went 2 of 11 on third down, a significant improvement after North Carolina converted 5 of 10. Warren's final numbers weren't terrible, but that's what mat- ters most. NOTRE DAME RUSHING DEFENSE: A+ A matchup between the nation's No. 3 rush effi- ciency defense and No. 134 rush efficiency offense went about as you would expect. Stanford rushed 21 times for 58 yards (2.8 yards per carry). If you don't include Traore's sack, the Cardinal's efficiency jumps up to a whopping 3.0. The Irish surprisingly did not record a tackle for loss against the run, but you can live with that when you give up next to nothing beyond the line of scrimmage. Senior linebacker Drayk Bowen and senior safety Luke Talich each made 5 solo tackles, but this was a team effort. NOTRE DAME SPECIAL TEAMS: B Junior Notre Dame kicker Spencer Porath missed his first extra point of the season, but he also made a 33-yard field goal. Special teams coordinator Marty Biagi won't be thrilled with that, but it's a moot point as long as Porath gets it fixed. Meanwhile, senior wide receiver Jordan Faison tied his season (and career) long with a 37-yard punt return. He is a noticeably better return man than he was in 2025, as one might expect in his second year with the full-time job. Faison hasn't taken one the distance yet, but it's coming. NOTRE DAME COACHING: A+ A+ might seem a little strong, given the oppo- nent. And yes, Stanford is truly dreadful. But that's exactly why the coaching staff, in my eyes, de- serves the highest possible grade after a 58-7 win. The Irish have seen the film. They know what Stanford is. They also know that a top-10 matchup with BYU looms in seven days. Here's the thing: They don't care. They treated this game like any other, and that's why they pretty much ended it on the first snap. "I was already asked in the post-game [interview] about next week," Freeman said. "We'll get to next week tomorrow. You work really hard to have a chance to put your team in that position to have success." No team is letdown-proof, but right now, Notre Dame is pretty close. That's a credit to Freeman and his staff for the way they attack games like this. REPORT CARD BY JACK SOBLE Senior wide receiver Jaden Greathouse reeled in 3 receptions for 30 yards and 1 touchdown against Stanford. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER