What they’re saying about Notre Dame’s 49-20 win against Stanford
Notre Dame improved to 10-2 on the regular season after blowing out Stanford 49-20. The Irish will now wait to find out their College Football Playoff fate with conference championship games looming.
In this article, we’ll take a look around at what the media is saying about the Fighting Irish’s win against the Cardinal, including former Irish wide receiver Robby Toma and Blue & Gold’s Mike Singer and Eric Hansen giving their instant reaction to the game in a YouTube live show. You can watch the replay of the show in the video player above.
Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold: How Notre Dame maximized opportunities, left as little CFP doubt as possible after 0-2 start
PALO ALTO, Calif. — If you saw the way Jack Larsen efforted for a loose football in the final seconds of Notre Dame’s 49-20 win over Stanford, then you’d have seen all you needed to see to understand by no means was that a typical conclusion to a 29-point spanking in a regular season finale consisting of a double-digit win team versus one that didn’t finish with even half as many victories as its adversary.
Far from typical.
And yes, efforted, the verb version of that word. There are a lot of verbs worthy of describing Notre Dame’s effort — there’s the noun — on its final offensive possession. Lollygagging would not be one of them. Neither would idling. The Irish put forth a significantly serious attack that was by no means aimless or carried out with intent of chewing up time.
Of the 11 snaps Notre Dame took between the 3:54 mark of the fourth quarter and triple zeroes, nine of them were called with intent to throw the ball. Backup quarterback Kenny Minchey fumbled on the final play of the game, and Larsen went sprawling for the rock as if his life depended on it.
Like Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff chances depended on it.
Did they, really? Probably not. What difference would 56-20 have made? We won’t ever know. What we do know is Notre Dame wanted that last score for style points or feel-good points or “we beat Stanford by more than Miami did” points or whatever you want to call them.
Eric Hansen, Blue & Gold: What Notre Dame football’s higher gear might look like in the postseason
For the first time this season, Marcus Freeman, late Saturday night, stumped for his ninth-ranked Notre Dame football team’s worthiness for inclusion in the College Football Playoff.
But without whining or indignation. And not until the Irish head coach was prompted to do so following No. 9 Notre Dame’s 49-20 road victory at Stanford.
What he wouldn’t accommodate was admitting to the scoreboard-watching that’s normally part of being in the midst of the CFP debates and speculation.
“Personally, I don’t do those things,” he said. “Maybe some other people in our program might, but it doesn’t help us take advantage of the opportunity we have at hand.
“And that’s what I kept trying to tell those guys. You have to value what you have. We have this opportunity right now. And it was like this every week. If you don’t value what you have, you’ll lose it. You’ll lose that opportunity. You won’t maximize it.”
What Notre Dame’s next opportunity constitutes — a playoff game of a berth in the Pop-Tarts Bowl — will become clearer Tuesday night with the next College Football Playoff reveal, and become unmistakable next Sunday, when the final 12-team bracket is unveiled.
Nick Shepowski, Notre Dame on SI: Notre Dame Obliterates Stanford—3 Takeaways from the Irish’s 10th Win
Notre Dame scored touchdowns on five of its first six possessions Saturday at Stanford, taking a 35-3 lead to halftime and making quick work of the Cardinal.
The win gives Notre Dame a final regular-season record of 10-2, something many didn’t expect after the Irish lost to Miami and Texas A&M to start the year.
If the late start of Saturday’s game meant an early bedtime for you, here are some instant takeaways from what wound up being a 49-20 Fighting Irish victory.
Jeremiyah Love’s Health Update
Jeremiyah Love was his typical self on the game’s opening drive, rushing for 54 yards on it and capping it with a two-yard touchdown. However, bruised ribs on his first carry of the second possession limited Love’s night as he’d only see a handful of touches from then on.
The good news is that Love did return from his initial injury and that with the rest of the next few weeks, it’d be assumed that he’ll be perfectly fine when the College Football Playoff begins the weekend of December 19 and 20.
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Harold Gutmann, The Press Democrat: Despite blowout loss to No. 9 Notre Dame, Stanford takes positives from 4-8 season
STANFORD – Stanford’s 49-20 loss to No. 9 Notre Dame on Saturday night served as a harsh reminder of just how far the Cardinal must climb to compete again with college football’s elite.
But for the first time in years, the season came to a close with something Stanford has long been seeking: clear signs of progress.
The Cardinal ended the 2025 season at 4-8, their highest win total since 2020 and the program’s first year-over-year improvement since 2015. They reclaimed the Stanford Axe for the first time in five years, posted a winning home record for the first time since 2018, and fielded a defense that produced its best statistical season in nearly a decade.
The year was hardly transformational. But in an era defined by Stanford struggling to adapt to the new college football landscape, it was at least a step.
Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman
Opening statement from postgame press conference:
“Man, great win. Again, the chance to, as I told them, earn this year’s Legends Trophy. Last year’s trophy was earned by last year’s team, and we had an opportunity to go out there and earn this year’s trophy. And so I’m proud of the way they did that.
“And we try to get them to focus on the opportunity we have right now, right? And I know there’s a lot of talk on what happens after this, but we couldn’t focus on that. We got to focus on this opportunity we have right now, and they did.
“They came out and played really, really well. They obviously didn’t finish the game the way you want it, but it got to a point where they have to continue to tell themselves it doesn’t matter what the score is. We got to continue to go out there and play.
“But I’m so proud of them and how much they’ve improved from really Week 1 to now and how consistent they’re playing. And so we’re going to enjoy this and fly home, and we’ll figure out what’s next for this football team.”
Stanford interim head coach Frank Reich
Opening statement from postgame press conference:
“I just want to begin by saying it’s been a great year here at Stanford. I want to begin by thanking President Levin and John Donohue, 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 a heck of a year.
“I feel like we made a lot of progress in a lot of ways. A special group of young men. And there are good things ahead for Stanford football. I know that. I can see it. I can see the formation of it. And I know under Coach Luck, Andrew Luck and Coach Pritchard, there’s going to be amazing things ahead for this team. So I’ll open it up from there.”