CFP bound? Notre Dame dominates Stanford despite Jeremiyah Love injury scare

PALO ALTO, Calif. — If you’re the type who holds your breath during moments of uncertainty and discomfort and you just so happen to also bleed blue and gold, you’d have needed to be superhuman to survive the Jeremiyah Love injury scare at Stanford Stadium on Saturday without so much as one exhale.

Notre Dame’s Heisman Trophy candidate running back went to the locker room just before 8:15 p.m. PT. He came back a minute or two prior to 8:35. The average person can hold their breath for 30 to 90 seconds, per Medical News Today.

For roughly 20 minutes, the status of the Fighting Irish superstar unlike any the storied program has ever had the delight of deploying was up in the chilly Bay Area late-autumn air.

Love’s light jog back to the sideline from the stadium tunnel didn’t guarantee good health but it was met with an optimistic ovation from Notre Dame fans who spotted him that was only rivaled by those that followed the Irish’s 7 touchdowns in a 49-20 regular season-ending victory over the Cardinal — and the one that came when Love did get back onto the field for the first time following a tough tackle that crunched his midsection midway through the first quarter.

Sighs of relief — from breath holders, heavy breathers and everyone in between — were rightfully in order. Love proved himself to be A-OK on a night in which many might’ve feared the worst at the absolute worst time of year to fear it.

Yes, the final act of Love’s Heisman campaign was still rudely interrupted by the ailment. But for Notre Dame, a 10-2 team in prime position to qualify for the College Football Playoff, the Stanford game was about more than the facilitation of individual awards, even if each South Bend media member was met with “A Love Letter To Football,” printed words hyping Love’s national profile crafted on study paper in the shape of his heart hands touchdown celebration.

He did score one of those one touchdowns, by the way, to set the all-time single-season Notre Dame record previously held by Jerome Bettis. The Bus had 20 in 1991. Love has 21 and counting in 2025. He finished the game with 14 carries for 66 yards, 1 catch for 6 yards and one bill of decent enough health to try to add to those numbers in the third quarter, without much success.

Notre Dame redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr completed 17 of 27 pass attempts for 205 yards with 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, meanwhile. One of those TDs went to redshirt junior running back Jadarian Price, who also had a rushing score. When Love briefly went out of the game, Price went in and didn’t miss a beat — status quo for the duo’s spectacular season. Third-stringer Aneyas Williams got a first-half series with Love sidelined and paid it off with 48 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown on six total touches on that drive alone. He added a 51-yard TD in the fourth quarter for good measure.

Intertwined in all of that Irish dominance, the Stanford offense was no match for a Notre Dame defense that continued clicking in California. At halftime, the Cardinal hardly had more total yards (90) than Notre Dame gained on a fake punt touchdown pass from defensive end Joshua Burnham to safety Luke Talich. That was an 84-yarder out of nowhere that made it 21-0 early in the second quarter.

Sophomore corner Leonard Moore collected his team-leading fifth interception. Junior linebacker Drayk Bowen went on a tackling rampage, finishing the game with 7 stops. It was simply another clinical effort for Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chris Ash’s unit, which held Stanford to 312 late-game-aided total yards and 4.5 yards per play.

Who wants to play against a defense like that December, with a presumably healthy Love, who will have had three weeks to rest up for another playoff run, on the other side of the ball, leading the way for an Irish offense that went for 524 total yards and 7.1 yards per play?

No team in its right mind.