The 11th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish improved to 5-1 on the season with a dominant 49-7 victory over Stanford. It was a rivalry game for Notre Dame, who has now won five of their last six games against the Cardinal. It was Notre Dame's fourth straight win of the season and second 40+ point victory over a Power 4 opponents.
When you out-gain a team 477-200 there are going to be a lot of standouts. In fact, Notre Dame rushed for more yards (229) and passed for more yards (248) than Stanford had in total offense in this game.
Here are my top players from the Notre Dame victory over Stanford.
OFFENSE - Riley Leonard, Quarterback
Leonard Stats : 16-22, 72.7%, 229 yards, 3 TD / 31 rush yards, 1 TD
Runners Up : RB Jeremiyah Love; RG Rocco Spindler, C Pat Coogan
This was without question Leonard's best performance in a Notre Dame uniform, and this looked very much his best games from the 2022 season when he was still at Duke. Leonard was on pace for over 300 yards in the win if he wasn't yanked with the rest of the starting offense at the end of the third quarter. He finished with 229 yards in three quarters, with Leonard passing for three touchdowns and completed 72.7% of his throws in the win. Leonard also chipped in 31 rushing yards and another score.
The numbers were good, but it's how he got there that was impressive. This was without question the most decisive Leonard has been this season. He went through his reads well, was able to come backside and his RPO performance was top notch. Two of Leonard's three touchdown passes were off RPO calls.
Leonard saved the offense of two sacks and he was excellent on third-down. His deep ball was just a touch off early, but he hit his last big shot for a 53-yard gain, the longest pass play of the season for Leonard.
DEFENSE - Rylie Mills and Howard Cross, Defensive Tackle
Mills Stats : 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack
Cross Stats : 4 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 sacks
Runners Up : DE Josh Burnham, S Xavier Watts
Notre Dame keeps losing defensive linemen each week, and when that happens other players need to step up. The ideal scenario for Notre Dame coming in was that veterans Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills stepped up and got back to playing at the high level we saw last season. Mills was named a captain and Cross was a preseason All-American, but neither has been overly effective this season. That certainly changed against Stanford.
With the game tied 7-7 and the Irish defense on its heels, Cross stepped up and made two huge sacks to end the drive. Mills had a pressure that forced the quarterback into Cross's arms on the first sack, but the second was brilliant execution from Cross. That play sparked the defense, who dominated the remainder of the game. Cross played with his best motor of the season, and the result was an outstanding performance.
Mills was also impressive in the win. He played with a relentless motor, ate up blocks all game and while he "only" had one sack he had another pressure that forced the quarterback into the arms of Cross for his first sack. Mills was stout against the run and the duo of Mills and Cross played a huge role in the Irish quickly bouncing back from a slow start and shutting Stanford down.
SPECIAL TEAMS - Zac Yoakum and Eric Goins, Kicker
Notre Dame lost starting place kicker Mitch Jeter after the first point after attempt, and both Yoakum and Goins helped fill that void. Yoakum drilled five straight extra points and Goins was very good with his kickoff placement. This group was put in an unexpected "next man up" situation and both flourished. Yoakum nailed all five of his extra points and Goins put five of his seven kickoffs into the end zone. Of the kicks that didn't get into the end zone pinned Stanford at its down 3-yard line.
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