Notre Dame defeats Stanford in rivalry matchup

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind -- Notre Dame keeps the Legends Trophy in South Bend after a 49-7 win over rival Stanford.

In the 38th meeting between Notre Dame and Stanford, it was the opposite of what Irish fans witnessed two years ago, when the Cardinal took the Legends Trophy back to California after a 16-14 win.

In Saturday's game the Irish got out to a slow start, allowing Stanford to get on the board first with 7-0 lead thanks to a rushing touchdown by back Justin Lampson.

The first quarter ended 7-7, as quarterback Riley Leonard scored on a six-yard run but that's not all the transfer did in Saturday's win.

It was a balanced offensive approach for the Irish. 477 total yards. 229 in the run game plus four touchdowns, but Leonard had himself a day, through the passing game.

Before Head Coach Marcus Freeman swapped Leonard for his backup Steve Angeli in the fourth quarter, Leonard passed for 229 yards and three touchdowns, finding nine different receivers. A first half score of 21-7 after Leonard found Jayden Thomas and Kris Mitchell for their first touchdowns of the season.

"That was just a reflection of, I think what their defense kind of gave us, and also what we felt like Riley could execute well, I mean, it's both. You have to look at where you think you'd have success, but also look at what do you think your guys can do well. So, I think that's a reflection of both of them. Really good decision making and put the ball exactly where it needed to be and had some great catches," Freeman said.

"I think they've been open kind of all year. You know, haven't been throwing it to them, but, I mean, I just threw them the ball today, pretty much and look what happened," Leonard added.

Leonard said the bye week helped him find peace and feel relaxed on the field, after visiting his home in Alabama. It showed in the week six matchup. Maybe more than he expected after his offensive lineman Pat Coogan came down with a 12-yard reception, after Stanford batted Leonard's pass attempt in the air.

"It was kind of just like, oh, here we go. I It's hard to explain. We ran tight zone to the right, and I was on my combo block, and I was on the way, and then I see the ball and it's in the air, and I grab it and run. It was just, like an instinctual thing that happened. So, it's fun though," Coogan said.

"I remember looking over the sideline and like, Kenny or somebody just mouthed, like, 'that's God bro'. Like, yeah, that was God man. He was on my side there. Great job by Pat like, really cool to see," Leonard added.

Next up for the Irisha is Georgia Tech at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA for week seven.