Notre Dame Opponent Preview: Stanford Cardinal

The 11th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-1) have a rivalry game this weekend when they host the Stanford Cardinal (2-3). It's a must-win situation for Notre Dame, who is looking to build on its College Football Playoff resume. The 11th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-1) have a rivalry game this weekend when they host the Stanford Cardinal (2-3). It's a must-win situation for Notre Dame, who is looking to build on its College Football Playoff resume.

Location : Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.)
Date : Saturday - October 12
Time : 3:30 PM ET
TV : NBC/Peacock
Line : Notre Dame -22.5; O/U 45.5

Let's kick off our preview of the matchup with an overview look at the Cardinal:

HEAD COACH - Troy Taylor

Stanford Record : 5-12 (2nd season)
Overall Record : 35-20 (5th season)

Taylor has spent much of his career coaching on the West Cast. He began his coaching career at California (1996-2000) and now enters his second season at Stanford.

After leaving Cal, Taylor went onto coach seven seasons at the high school level, including seven seasons as the head coach at Folsom High School. In 2016, Taylor was hired as the offensive coordinator at Eastern Washington. During that season the Eagles went 12-2 and averaged 42.4 points per game. He then served two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Utah before becoming the head coach at Sacramento State.

Taylor coached four seasons at Sacrament State, racking up a 30-8 record, reaching the playoffs in all three seasons in which the program actually played games. They didn't play in 2020. Taylor led Sacramento State to a 12-2 record and a No. 5 finish in 2022, his final season before heading to Stanford.

Defensive Coordinator : Bobby April (Outside linebackers)

STANFORD 2024 SCHEDULE

TCU - Lost 34-27
Cal Poly - Won 41-7
at Syracuse - Won 26-24
at Clemson - Lost 40-14
Virginia Tech - Lost 31-7
at Notre Dame
SMU
Wake Forest
at NC State
Louisville
at California
at San Jose State

2024 STATISTICAL OVERVIEW

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Rushing : QB Ashton Daniels - 50 att., 250 yards, 5.0 YPC, 0 TD; RB Micah Ford - 47 att., 230 yards, 4.9 YPC, 0 TD; RB Chris Davis Jr . - 26 att., 188 yards, 7.2 YPC, 0 TD; RB Sedrick Irvin - 16 att., 73 yards, 4.6 YPC, 0 TD

Passing : QB Ashton Daniels - 68-115, 59.1%, 633 yards, 5.5 YPA, 5 TD, 6 INT, 109.28 rating

Receiving : WR Elic Ayomanor - 24 rec., 317 yards, 13.2 YPC, 3 TD; WR Ismael Cisse - 22 rec., 186 yards, 8.5 YPC, 2 TD; TE Sam Roush - 12 rec., 97 yards, 8.1 YPC, 1 TD; RB Sedrick Irvin - 4 rec., 92 yards, 23.0 YPC, 0 TD; WR Emmett Mosley V - 11 rec., 77 yards, 7.0 YPC, 1 TD

Tackles : LB Tristan Sinclair - 36; S Scotty Edwards - 32; LB Gaethan Bernadel - 32; CB Collin Wright - 23; S Mitch Leigber - 23; LB Tevarua Tafiti - 18; S Jay Green - 17

Tackles For Loss : LB Tristan Sinclair - 4.5; LB Tevarua Tafiti - 4.0; LB David Bailey - 3.0; LB Matt Rose - 3.0; S Mitch Leigber - 2.5; LB Gaethan Bernadel - 2.0

Sacks : LB David Bailey - 2.0; LB Tevarua Tafiti - 2.0

Interceptions : CB Collin Wright - 2

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

2024 Scholarship Chart
2024 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2025 Scholarship Offers

2025 Commit Rankings - Offense
2025 Commit Rankings - Defense

2024 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2024 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

———————

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter