Matchups: Notre Dame Back in Action Against Banged-Up Stanford

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be back in action on Saturday afternoon against the Stanford Cardinal. Ordinarily, that should make for an easy win, but the Irish already managed to lose to heavy underdog Northern Illinois, and Stanford’s last trip to the Golden Dome resulted in a stunning upset.

The Cardinals continue to struggle, bringing a 2-3 season mark to Notre Dame Stadium. In the past two weeks, they’ve been outscored by a combined score of 71 to 21, with the Irish looking to continue that rut. Taking care of business early will help Marcus Freeman’s squad eliminate any thoughts of a rerun of the debacle from two years ago.

Below is a look at some of the critical matchups for Saturday:

QB Riley Leonard vs. Stanford Defense

Leonard has been the main offensive force during Notre Dame’s last two games, relying heavily on his mobility to become the team’s leading rusher. While the Irish could continue to rely on that for offensive production, the hope is that he can start to develop a deep game on the passing front. Also, working on moving the chains, especially on third down, remains a project.

The Stanford defense has some talented players on it but the collective effort remains a problem. The Cardinal defenders are only allowing 88 yards rushing yards per game and 3.2 yards per carry. However, the pass defense has been vulnerable, giving up 11 touchdown passes, compared to just five for Notre Dame.

QB Ashton Daniels/Justin Lamson vs. Notre Dame Defense

The Irish defense managed to hold on for the win against Louisville but ended up giving its largest amount of yardage for the season with 395 yards. They should be able to control a weaker Cardinal squad but have presumably learned not to take anything for granted. Forcing a turnover is one ticket to success considering that the lone time that the Irish failed to do it in 2024 came in that lone loss. All four wins have seen the defense collect multiple turnovers.

Exactly who lines up behind center for Stanford is uncertain right now. Daniels left the Sept. 28 Clemson loss with an injury and Lamson started this past Saturday and will be available. However, how long or how well he plays is a question mark. Daniels is also a major part of the Stanford rushing attack but has struggled in the air with five touchdown passes negated by six picks. Meanwhile, Lamson had just 103 passing yards and one interception against Virginia Tech.

RB Jeremiyah Love vs. MLB Tristan Sinclair

Love has been temporarily supplanted as Notre Dame’s leading rusher, presumably a momentary pause in what’s becoming a big year. He only gained 34 rushing yards in the Louisville victory with one touchdown but caught five passes and also snagged a scoring toss. Given the weakness of much of the Irish’s upcoming schedule, Love has the opportunity to truly boost his numbers.

Sinclair is the Cardinal’s leading tackler with 36 stops and is on pace to match his 2023 performance when he finished with 71 tackles on the season. He already has as many tackles-for-loss as he had last year with five and has the quickness to get past Irish blockers. One flaw is that he’s sometimes too aggressive in trying for the tackle that a runner can elude him with some quick moves.

VYPER Junior Tuihalamaka vs. LT Luke Baklenko

In what’s become an unfortunate revolving door at this position, Tuihalamaka is forced to step up after season-ending injuries to Jordan Botelho and Boubacar Traore in consecutive games. He only has six tackles on the season but his interception near the goal line against Miami of Ohio stopped the RedHawks’ early momentum. Picking up that pace will help ease the concerns over this injury onslaught.

Baklenko is in his second season oand offers a big body to protect whoever is calling signals. However, after showing some effectiveness in pass protection last year, he’s part of a unit that’s allowed an average of three sacks per game this season. Any chance of upsetting Notre Dame again requires better work up front, including from Baklenko.

RT Aamil Wagner vs. LOLB David Bailey

Wagner has been challenged throughout the year and has a stiff battle on tap. He’s part of the line unit that’s opened holes for both Leonard and Love and is needed on pass protection against the Cardinal’s sack leader. He’s established some chemistry with the two linemen next to him after injuries required inserting new players.

Bailey is in his third season at Stanford and has continually shown that the laudatory comments after he arrived on campus were valid. Right now, exactly how much he’ll play is a question since he’s seen limited snaps the last two games because of an injury. Before that issue surfaced, Bailey picked up a pair of sacks in the win over Syracuse and forced a pair of fumbles in the rout over Cal Poly.