Notre Dame football got a precursor for things to come against Stanford, and the leaders they needed

Notre Dame football came off their bye week, and proceeded to dominate the Stanford Cardinal 49 to 7 after a bit of a slow start. Some people will call that contest a “get right” game. Others will call it a tune up. When we look back on it, it could end up being a precursor for things to come.

It all starts with the Irish passing game, which was the best it has been all season, and by a good margin. We saw a breakout performance through the air from quarterback Riley Leonard , and one the Notre Dame faithful have been starved for. Leonard finished the day 16-22 for 229 yards and three touchdowns. He also added another 31 yards and a score on the ground.

That was Leonard’s best day in the blue and gold, and he did so in only three quarters of play. You saw players like Beaux Collins and Kris Mitchell step up as well. Collins hauled in four receptions for 85 yards, which included a 53-yarder during the contest. Mitchell also had four receptions, one of which was his first touchdown as a part of the Notre Dame program.

On the defensive side of the football, Notre Dame fans have been waiting for defensive tackles Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills to begin playing up to their capabilities. Heading into the season, most people had the duo on their short list of best interior pairings in college football. A lot was expected from both Cross and Mills during this season.

Heading into the game, those two had mostly been quiet. There was good moments from both, but they were few and far between. There also hadn’t really been a game that both Cross and Mills seemed to dominate together, at least until Stanford.

Mills and Cross together combined for eight total tackles and three sacks during the game against Stanford. They were a dominant duo pretty much from start to finish. It was a welcomed sight from Irish fans, and a hopeful performance that could propel Notre Dame throughout the rest of the season.

If Notre Dame is going to potentially run the table, and make any sort of noise in the playoffs, they are going to need their stars to play like stars. Players like Leonard, Cross and Mills will need to play their best football at the right times. This was a great game as hopefully a spring board, and how this team develops from here will be huge.