Recap: Frank Reich era at Stanford ends with loss to No. 9 Notre Dame in battle for The Legends Trophy
On Saturday, Stanford football fell to No. 9 Notre Dame at home by a final score of 49-20 in the battle for The Legends Trophy. Notre Dame keeps the trophy for the third straight season. Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr went 17-27 for 205 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions for a 151.2 passer rating while running back Aneyas Williams rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Stanford quarterback Elijah Brown went 18-37 for 204 yards, one touchdown, and one interception for a 98.5 passer rating while tight end Sam Roush had four receptions for 73 yards. Notre Dame improves to 10-2 overall while Stanford falls to 4-8 (3-5 in the ACC).
VIDEO: Stanford Football Postgame Press Conference: Notre Dame
VIDEO: Notre Dame Football Postgame Press Conference: Stanford
BOX SCORE: Notre Dame at Stanford-Saturday, November 29th
“Yeah, just want to begin by saying it’s been a great year here at Stanford,” Stanford interim head coach Frank Reich said after the game. “Want to begin by thanking President Levin and John Donahoe, our new athletic director and of course my good friend Andrew Luck for the opportunity to be here and be the coach at Stanford this year. It’s been an incredible experience and, you know, heck of a year.
“Feel like we made a lot of progress in a lot of ways. Special group of young men. There are good things ahead for Stanford football. I know that. I can see it. I can see the formation of it. I know under Coach Luck, Andrew Luck and Pritchard there will be amazing things ahead for this team.”
This game was one-way traffic from the jump as Notre Dame led 14-0 at the end of the 1st quarter and then outscored Stanford 21-3 in the 2nd quarter to lead 35-3 at halftime. Ironically, Frank Reich faced a 35-3 deficit when he was quarterbacking the Buffalo Bills against the Houston Oilers and came back to win in the greatest comeback in NFL playoff history. Such a comeback did not happen this time as Notre Dame would outscore Stanford 7-3 in the 3rd quarter before Stanford finally had a bit of success in the 4th quarter, outscoring Notre Dame 14-7.
One of the biggest questions coming into the game was how Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love would do as he pursues a Heisman trophy. Love unfortunately suffered a rib injury and was limited to 66 rushing yards and one touchdown on 14 attempts. That touchdown came on the first drive of the game as Love had an 18 yard run during the drive, carrying the load on a drive that went 66 yards in 11 plays.
Odds are good that Love’s Heisman Trophy chances took a big hit after facing Stanford, but on that opening drive, he showed why he is such a phenomenal talent. He played through the 3rd quarter before not getting a touch in the 4th quarter as the game was in hand. It’s a bit unclear how much of his lack of production was due to the injury, Notre Dame not wanting to overwork him as they really didn’t need to play him to win the game, and how much was a function of Stanford’s defense. It was a combination of all three, but hard to tell which was the leading factor.
“Yeah, I mean, not really. I wasn’t really focused on it,” Love said when asked about his Heisman resume. “Like, I come into this game focused on making sure that we end the season how we wanted to. Really didn’t come into it trying to do anything individually.
“Just wanted to do the best for my team. The best thing for our team was a win. Wanted to finish off the season the way we wanted to finish it off.
“I mean, say what I always say. Looking at me, I’m a team player. I want the best for my guys. I’m the type of player that elevates everybody else around me. I don’t really focus on individual things really a lot because at the end of the day I feel like I believe that nothing is done by myself. Everything is a credit to your team, your coaches, stuff like that.”
Probably the highlight of the game for Stanford was senior quarterback Charlie Mirer coming in at the end of the game to go 2-3 for 22 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions while also rushing for 23 yards. Mirer connected with wide receiver Marcus Brown for the touchdown, who had five receptions for 41 yards on top of the touchdown. For those that don’t know, Charlie’s father Rick Mirer played quarterback at Notre Dame and was a number two overall draft pick by the Seattle Seahawks in the 1993 NFL Draft. For Charlie to have a successful touchdown drive as a senior against his father’s alma mater is pretty special regardless of the result.
There are three major storylines to take from this game, the first of which I already addressed, which is Jeremiyah Love’s Heisman odds. The other two are Notre Dame’s playoff chances and this being Frank Reich’s final game as interim head coach at Stanford.
Starting with Notre Dame’s playoff chances, they’re right on the bubble with the win over Stanford only helping in that a loss would have ended their playoff hopes for sure. They’re hoping that winning 10 straight games after starting 0-2 will be enough to get them in the playoffs. They feel like they are one of the best 12 teams in the nation and worthy of one of those spots.
“We are improving as much as any team in the country, right?” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said when asked of their playoff resume. “We have improved as much as anybody in the country. We’re playing as well as anybody in the country. 10 straight wins, double-digit wins. We have to me, in my opinion, the best player in the country. That’s what you want. You want the best teams in the country now, right? Who is the best teams for the playoffs right now. I truly believe we’re one of them.”
As for Frank Reich, he really came into this job in a tough spot. He had to earn the trust of a team that didn’t know him at all and to his credit, he did a great job of getting the guys to buy in and trust in him. While the Notre Dame game didn’t go the way they wanted to, they can definitely feel like they made progress this year. They picked up a fourth win and, in the process, reclaimed The Axe from Cal. Those were the two check marks I had in order for them to have a successful season relative to expectations. They accomplished that mission and Reich was a major reason for that.
“Got The Axe back,” Reich said when asked about the progress that was made. “That’s one thing. That’s not the only thing. The culture that the players set, the way we did things, the chemistry, the brotherhood in the locker room, the way we practice. You know, we didn’t get as many wins as we wanted but made progress there, too. We got the most important win of all and that was against Cal to get The Axe back.
“So there is a lot more wins coming to this program. Trust me on that. I promise you there is a lot more wins coming to this program. A lot of good players here, and Coach Luck and Coach Pritchard will do an amazing job. Two great leaders, and I can’t wait to watch.”
“First of all, he’s a legendary coach,” Stanford senior Sam Roush said of Reich. “We’re so thankful to have him. He truly was doing this out the goodness of his heart. I don’t think he’s taken a paycheck. He’s just being the interim head coach, doing this as a favor for Coach Luck, and then he said in the locker room he’s not just doing this for Coach Luck, but for us, the 25 seniors that walked today. We really appreciate that. We were able to get The Axe back. That’s going to be one the greatest memories of my time at Stanford.”
Looking ahead for Stanford, they have Tavita Pritchard being introduced as head coach on Tuesday, December 2nd at 10:00 AM PT. That will begin a new era on The Farm. Link to that press conference is here.
Note: Cardinal Sports Report has you covered for all the latest news on Stanford as they begin the Andrew Luck era.
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