Notre Dame v Stanford
The numbers are the highlights. That was in some part because Stanford was so overmatched against Notre Dame, the Cardinal program in a deeper hole than at any previous point this century and its path back to mediocrity looking like a narrow one that will test all the ingenuity of first-year head coach Troy Taylor.
But it was also in some part because the No. 18 Irish (9-3) have developed their offense into something of note, something that can be counted upon against lesser foes and one that should get a chance to test itself against an SEC opponent in a bowl game.
“I’m so proud of this team,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said Saturday night. “We’re chasing reaching our full potential. We haven’t totally gotten there, but we were pretty close today.
“We have a couple weeks to get ready for this bowl game, whichever one we go to.”
The Irish needed healthy and plenty of receivers, an increasing reality with freshman Jaden Greathouse fully recovered from a lingering hamstring worry and classmate Jordan Faison fully immersed in the offense despite lacrosse season’s soon arrival. Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman connected with each for a touchdown pass, tying former Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell (2005-08) for third all-time in career touchdown passes, each with 134.
The numbers are the highlights because on each pass, neither Hartman nor his young target needed to make an outstanding play. The route was open, the throw was accurate, the end zone awaited.
Admittedly, Stanford (3-9) faced a no-win situation on defense. The Cardinal pass defense is arguably the worst in the country, ripe for Hartman’s picking, and thus it could not devote extra defenders to stopping the run as past Notre Dame headaches have, like Duke, Louisville and Clemson.
And that only served to…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/highlights-notre-dame-56-stanford-123000825.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2023-11-26 12:30:00
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