SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Nine thoughts on Notre Dame’s dominant win over Stanford, one for every yard after the catch logged by Pat Coogan last weekend.
1. Injuries happen on every football team, every season.
Some seasons are worse than others, which doesn’t mean there’s a correlation between training and how many games are lost. But Notre Dame has hit crisis levels with Benjamin Morrison now done, alongside center Ashton Craig, defensive ends Jordan Botelho and Boubacar Traore and offensive tackle Charles Jagusah.
From that group, Craig’s injury is the most “it’s football, this happens” example after he got rolled from behind at Purdue. The others deserve a little more introspection from Marcus Freeman and strength coach Loren Landow.
When the knees of Traore and Botelho buckled, it came from making a football move, not because they got rolled or hit. It’s not clear what happened with Jagusah, but it’s the kind of muscle injury that shouldn’t happen during the first days of camp. Morrison’s is even harder to understand, though it’s worth noting that he had a hip injury in high school, too.
Regardless, put together, these injuries are enough to change the outlook on the second half of Notre Dame’s season. It’s not that the Irish can’t win out. They can. But winning in the College Football Playoff? That just got a hell of a lot harder.
2. Only Army and BYU have more fourth-down stops than Notre Dame’s dozen this season. The Irish have allowed just three fourth-down conversions in 15 total attempts. Stanford picked one up in the second quarter (a 3-yard quarterback run on fourth-and-1), only to get stuffed four plays later when Howard Cross sacked Ashton Daniels on fourth-and-5.
Of course, one of those three fourth-down conversions was Northern Illinois quarterback Ethan Hampton scrambling for 3 yards on fourth-and-2 … four plays before the Huskies kicked that game-winning field goal.
Still, fourth-down defense has been a strength for Notre Dame.
Notre Dame converted 8-of-8 on 3rd or 4th down when needing two yards or less against Stanford. Three of those conversions were via the pass.
The Irish were 6-of-9 in that scenario *all season* coming into Stanford and had not even attempted a pass in this scenario.
— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) October 13, 2024
3. Beaux Collins won’t give himself a break. But he probably deserves one after that early drop. Maybe for the lost fumble, too, but probably not. He’s been Notre Dame’s only reliable receiver this season and basically got frozen out of the offense the past three games: 13 targets, seven catches, 74 yards. Against Stanford, he had seven targets, four catches and 85 yards. He’d have had a touchdown, too, if Riley Leonard hadn’t underthrown that deep shot.
Credit the receivers for not getting outwardly frustrated by Notre Dame’s developmental pass game. Collins got paid last weekend with targets; Kris Mitchell and Jayden Thomas got paid with touchdowns. This might not be an elite receiver group, but it has more talent than the Irish have been able to show.
4. If Notre Dame was ever going to pull the plug on a grad transfer for a true freshman, now might be the time with RJ Oben and Bryce Young. Oben has given Notre Dame very little. He looks like a defensive tackle trying to play defensive end. Young looks like a bird of prey coming off the edge. If Young is in the game, he impacts the play. Oben does not.
Freeman talked after the game about taking some work off Young’s plate to let the freshman get caught up. But the Irish need more of Young, not less. Maybe this move doesn’t happen until after the second bye. But it needs to happen.
5. Last week, Freeman was asked about Jaylen Sneed’s status after the linebacker reportedly skipped singing the alma mater after getting a season-low 12 snaps against Stanford. Freeman shrugged it off and claimed Sneed would have a bigger role against Stanford. But the junior played just 14 snaps and looked out of position on Stanford’s touchdown drive to open the game.
For all the recruiting hype around Sneed, maybe he’s just a situational player in Notre Dame’s defense. Would anyone argue that Sneed should get reps over Jaiden Ausberry, Drayk Bowen or Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa?
6. Loved how Deland McCullough and the offensive staff committed to Jadarian Price coming back from the fumble that ended his day against Louisville. Price deserved to be benched then. He also deserved another shot. Twelve carries for 49 yards won’t displace Jeremiyah Love on the depth chart. But that’s not the point. Moving Price past the fumble was.
Notre Dame will need Price again, just like the Irish needed him at Texas A&M.
7. I already wrote about how Leonard grew into Notre Dame’s offense last weekend. But just for context, going 16-of-22 for 229 yards with three touchdowns and no picks is good for a 205.16 passing efficiency rating. Not only was that Leonard’s best performance of the season, but it would also rank No. 1 nationally if he did it every week.
Obviously, Leonard doesn’t do this every week.
There’s a reason he’s No. 73 nationally in passing efficiency (132.47). But now Notre Dame knows this kind of performance is in the quarterback. And not just in practice.
8. Also, did that count as an ACC win? And will it be the last time Stanford comes to Notre Dame as an annual home-and-home opponent?
The series hasn’t been officially extended, and it’s hard to see the Irish or Cardinal walking away from it, although Stanford probably doesn’t need the Midwest trip considering its new scheduling reality. No, the series isn’t what it used to be when Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw ran the show. But Notre Dame doesn’t need Stanford to be a good win for the series to make sense. That’s what home-and-home series with Ohio State and Texas A&M are for.
Stanford doesn’t feel like a rivalry anymore, regardless of how it’s presented. And that’s fine. Notre Dame still benefits from the win, even if it didn’t move up in the polls this week.
9. We’re three weeks away from the first College Football Playoff rankings and about five days away from the first ranking argument of substance. If Texas beats Georgia this weekend, do the two-loss Bulldogs stay ahead of a one-loss Irish? Does the loser of Alabama–Tennessee stay ahead of a one-loss Irish? If Louisville beats Miami this weekend, does Notre Dame move ahead of the Hurricanes because of a common opponent? We’re also a week away from Texas A&M hosting LSU, which has all sorts of implications for Notre Dame.
Basically, if you’re concerned about Notre Dame’s position in the polls. Don’t be. At least not yet. If Notre Dame somehow gets stuck behind two-loss SEC teams in the next couple of weeks, the Irish might be in some trouble.
(Photo of Marcus Freeman: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
