Strong marks across the board for Notre Dame football vs. Stanford
· Yahoo Sports
SOUTH BEND — Third-ranked Notre Dame football took care of unranked Stanford with expected ease on Saturday Oct. 10 at Notre Dame Stadium. The final score was 58-7.
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The Irish (6-0) needed one play to force their first turnover and four more to take a lead they would not relinquish. The Cardinal fell to 2-4 with their fourth straight loss in the series and seventh in the past eight meetings for the Legends Trophy.
Here's how the South Bend Tribune graded the Irish.
Offense: A-
Wide receiver Jaden Greathouse caught a touchdown pass for the second straight game after a 20-month scoring drought. Jonaz Walton’s 97-yard touchdown run and Aneyas Williams’ 70-yard scoring reception marked Notre Dame’s first twin scores of 70-plus yards in the same game since against Navy in 1993 (Randy Kinder, Lake Dawson). The Irish averaged 9.0 yards per play through three quarters.
Defense: A-
Chris Ash’s group, playing without Leonard Moore (concussion) and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (left wrist), forced a turnover on its first series for the third time in eight games. This time it was Boubacar Traore with a strip sack and Jaiden Ausberry with the fumble recovery at the Stanford 18. Traore added an interception of Davis Warren and an 18-yard return to set up another score.
Special teams: B
Jordan Faison nearly broke a punt return before getting tripped up after 37 yards. Spencer Porath missed his first point-after attempt in 70 tries; that came after a mishandled snap in the rain at North Carolina a week ago. The punt return unit was backed up on the Irish 1 for the second time this year (Wisconsin was the other).
Coaching: A
When it’s 37-0 at halftime, that tells you everything you need to know about Notre Dame’s preparedness for a Stanford team that beat Hawaii and Georgia Tech this year. The Irish reached halftime with a plus-12 turnover margin on the year, second only to New Mexico (plus-18) entering Saturday’s play.
Overall: A-
Maybe it’s time to downgrade the Legends Trophy to the Legends Coupon at the eponymous sports bar just outside the stadium gates. One free dessert item for each touchdown scorer in a winning cause?
Bring on BYU week —finally.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Strong marks across the board for Notre Dame football vs. Stanford