Notre Dame’s 10th Straight Win Keeps Irish Firmly in College Football Playoff Hunt
Notre Dame is heading home from another West Coast trip with a statement victory and its College Football Playoff hopes very much alive.
The Irish dismantled Stanford 49–20 on Saturday night, building a 42–6 lead entering the fourth quarter before turning the game over to the reserves. Stanford outscored Notre Dame 14–7 in the final frame, but the outcome had been sealed long before that.
That said, the body of work was done. In fact, the game was over early in the second quarter when safety Luke Talich took a pass from defensive end Joshua Burnham 84 yards to the house on a fake punt to give Notre Dame a 21-0 lead.
Now, the Irish must wait through championship weekend to learn whether they will land among the 12 teams competing for the National Title. Notre Dame entered the week ranked No. 9 and head coach Marcus Freeman believes his team has built a résumé worthy of playing into December.
“You talk about a team that is probably playing as well as anyone right now,” Freeman stated. “They’ve won ten straight games in a row, I think all of them by double-digit points. You want the 12 best teams now. I know you have the conference champions and the Group of Five highest-ranked team, but you talk about who are the best teams now, not week one, now, and it's hard to argue we aren't one of those teams.”
There will be some who will always argue against Notre Dame making the final field, but the body of work is there and most of all, growth is there.
Freeman chose to continue that growth on Saturday, inserting his reserves in the fourth quarter rather than running up the score on Stanford.
He decided to get young players and key reserves quality work in, as Notre Dame might need them if they make the College Football Playoff.
“We were at a point where we felt like we had the game in hand and so you have to make decisions at the end of the game that you believe are best for your team,” explained Freeman. “What's best for our team at that moment is you get a chance to get some backups in that's going to help them improve and you might need those guys this season.
“When I know we have a game won, it's more important for me to make decisions that are best for our team, which is going to be getting some younger guys or maybe some backups in because they'll get valuable reps in that game.”
Notre Dame also dismantled Stanford without Jeremiyah Love for a significant portion of the night. The Heisman candidate ran 14 times for 66 yards and a touchdown while dealing with a rib injury.
Love’s Heisman hopes took a hit without a big night, but that’s more than fine with him.
“I'm a team player,” Love said. “I want the best for my guys and I'm the type of player that elevates everybody else around me. I don't really focus on individual things a lot because at the end of the day, I feel like and I believe that nothing is done by yourself. Everything is a credit to your team, your coaches, and stuff like that.”
If anything, Notre Dame proved it has even more depth than outsiders kne about as Aneyas Williams finished the night with 10 carries for 83 yards and two touchdowns.
Irish cornerback Leonard Moore stepped up on Saturday as the Cardinal routinely targeted him and he made them pay. Moore finished with five tackles, three pass breakups and one interception.
Moore also believes Notre Dame is more than deserving for a playoff bid.
“We're a changed team, a changed defense,” said Moore. “We lost two games early, but we're on a 10-game win streak, so that's not too much else to say.”
Want the latest scoop on the Fighting Irish? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD
Under Armour Kelly Green Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Rival Fleece Sweatshirt
