Notre Dame and Stanford have performed one another in soccer yearly since 1997 besides in 2020, when each groups solely performed convention video games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The groups play Saturday afternoon in South Bend, however after that, nobody is aware of once they’ll meet once more: the sequence isn’t on the schedule for 2025 or past.
Each groups nonetheless have a gap on their schedules subsequent season, and Stanford head coach Troy Taylor hopes the sequence continues.
“I believe it’s an amazing rivalry,” stated Taylor. “Clearly two unimaginable establishments that I believe have quite a bit in frequent and have plenty of respect for one another. I do know it’s a recreation previously that I’ve all the time saved an eye fixed on and all the time adopted and tried to observe as a lot as doable. It’s been some actually good battles, so hopefully it continues.
“Tv and contracts and conferences and all these issues play a job, however I do know I actually would like to proceed to play Notre Dame.”
Stanford’s different non-conference video games in 2025 are all within the first month — at BYU and Hawaii and residential in opposition to San Jose State — leaving a spot for a house recreation in opposition to Notre Dame on the finish of the season, which is traditionally when the video games between the 2 groups at Stanford Stadium have been performed.
The Cardinal (2-3 general) won’t know when it’ll play Notre Dame once more, however quarterback Ashton Daniels is anticipated to be able to play Saturday in opposition to the Eleventh-ranked Irish (12:30 p.m., NBC), offering hope to an offense that didn’t have a play longer than 20 yards in a blowout loss to Virginia Tech final week.
Daniels sat out the sport with an ankle damage and the Cardinal’s longest move was a 19-yard landing from halfback Micah Ford on a trick play. Backup Justin Lamson went 13 of 24 for 103 yards and two turnovers within the 31-7 loss.
“We really moved the ball,” Taylor stated. “We had perhaps one three-and-out. Aside from that, we put collectively a sequence of first downs, it’s simply troublesome to attain plenty of factors when you’re not getting large performs throughout the drive. It’s one thing that you understand we’re going to want to have a few of these explosive performs, whether or not it’s within the move recreation or the run recreation.”
The return of Daniels – who can be the workforce’s main rusher with 250 yards on 50 carries regardless of lacking a recreation – could assist open up the offense for the Cardinal. However it can nonetheless be robust to maneuver the ball in opposition to Notre Dame (4-1), who’re led by defensive-minded coach Marcus Freeman.
This season, the Irish rank sixth in workforce passing effectivity protection, ninth in scoring protection (12.6) and nineteenth in complete protection (284.0). The workforce completed fifth in complete protection and first in move effectivity protection final season.
Taylor stated it begins with Notre Dame’s capability to play man-to-man protection.
“Once you watch their eye self-discipline and the place they’re alleged to be, they make only a few errors, they usually’re nice tacklers they usually’ve obtained actually good pace,” Taylor stated. “I imply the most effective protection you’ll be able to play in soccer actually is man when you have the fellows that may do it, they usually do. It makes the passing lanes very tight and also you’re capable of get strain on the quarterback.”
Although Daniels is again, Stanford would possibly nonetheless be short-handed in South Bend. Ford is questionable for Saturday after struggling a decrease leg damage within the remaining minute in opposition to Virginia Tech, and fifth-year middle Levi Rogers, by far probably the most skilled lineman, is probably going out with an undisclosed damage.
Ford has been the workforce’s main rusher over the past three video games (216 yards). So will probably be much more necessary for Daniels to ascertain a downfield passing recreation with receivers Elic Ayomanor (24 catches, 317 yards, three TDs) and Ismael Cisse (22 catches, 186 yards, 2 TDs).
He can even must keep away from turnovers after throwing six interceptions in his first 4 video games if Stanford, a 23-point underdog, hopes to reclaim the Legends Trophy after final 12 months’s 56-23 loss. Notre Dame fifth-year security Xavier Watts gained the Bronko Nagurski Trophy because the nation’s finest defensive participant final 12 months after recording an FBS-best seven interceptions.
