Notre Dame won its 16th consecutive game in more than convincing fashion with Saturday’s 58-7 win over Stanford. The Fighting Irish briefly had more than 600 yards of total offense before three kneel downs by QB3 Teddy Jarrard left them at 598 to end a game that saw Stanford gain just 202 yards of their own while having almost as many punts (8) as first downs attained (9) in their most lopsided loss ever to the Irish.  

The 16-game winning streak dates back to Sept. 25 of last year. It is the longest active double-digit win streak in the FBS and the longest in 

program history and the third-longest in college football history. All 16 wins have come by double digit score margins.  

“I'm very pleased with the win today,” Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said when asked to evaluate his team at the season’s midway point. “We get so lost in the week and what's right in front of us that sometimes when you think of -- I think we're 6-0 or 5-0. I know we haven't lost yet. But sometimes when you think about that, it's too big. I want to go 1-0 this week, and that's really a mindset that we have. 

“I've just been pleased with the way they've practiced and prepared and challenged themselves to work at our process through the week better,” Freeman continued. “We all challenge ourselves to be better at the things we do in terms of how we prepare and that's what I've been really pleased about.” 

Jonaz Walton got his monumental day started with a 97-yard touchdown run on his first touch of the game on the first play of the second quarter. By the time his day was done, Walton ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries to set the Notre Dame single game rushing record that was previously set by Josh Adams (168) against Stanford in 2015. 

The freshman has been the No. 3 back in the Irish rotation, but he now leads the team with 409 rushing yards along with a whopping 7.9 yards per carry after later scoring on a 40-yard run in the fourth quarter before exiting the game.  

“We know he's gifted,” Freeman said of Walton. “He has a lot of ability. But what you're seeing now is that he's being consistent in practice, consistent in his reads, consistent in what he is every single day that's giving him more opportunities to go out there and play on the field. When you're consistent in your everyday play and everyday expectations, now you'll get more opportunities and then you can make one pop like that. I mean, that was a great play. One is God given ability. He's got some speed on him. Once he broke, I didn't think he was going to get caught. He's learning how to practice and prepare consistently every day. If he continues to do that, man, he's got a bright future.” 

Boubacar Traore made his presence known immediately. Traore burst off the edge and stripped Stanford quarterback Davis Warren of the ball on the game’s first play from scrimmage. The Irish recovered the fumble and scored two plays later and never looked back.  

Traore later had an interception to help the Irish win the turnover margin 3-0. He stuffed the stat line with a sack, a TFL, a QB hurry, a forced fumble, and the interception. He is the first Irish player since at least 1998 with an interception and a strip sack in the same game. He leads the Irish with 8.0 quarterback pressures, 3.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss.  

“He's an impact player,” Freeman proclaimed. “But he is a freakin' great practice player. That's what I love. When I think about Boubacar and where he started to where he is now, the way he practices is tremendous. Him and Bryce (Young), those guys -- I help out with the scout team sometimes, and you can't block them. They work their tails off, and then they go out there, and it's a reflection of the way they prepare. He's making some huge plays for us. It's a credit to, yeah, his God given ability, but the way he is working his talent and his gift.” 

Notre Dame’s first six games of the season were a necessary step in the process of this season. The Irish handled those steps by outscoring their first six opponents by an average score of 44-11. But all six of those opponents were unranked when they played. 

The stakes increase for the Irish starting with this Saturday night’s game at No. 8 BYU. While the Irish beat a pair of ranked teams last season, they haven’t played a team that was ranked in the top 10 at the time of the meeting since last year’s season opening loss at No. 4 Miami.  

Freeman is 6-0 for the first time in his five seasons as head coach, but now it’s time for the first test against a top 10 opponent that, like the Irish, felt snubbed by the College Football Playoff last year.  

“They're ultimate competitors, and they want to play the best,” Freeman said of his team’s mindset. “Next week they'll get the opportunity to play a top 10 team, and they'll be ready. But my job is to remind them to enjoy the fruits of your labor. If you don't enjoy this and you're just looking to the next one, it's miserable, miserable.  

“I'll tell you how hard it is Monday through Friday,” Freeman continued. “I mean it's hard. If you don't find a way to enjoy a victory on a Saturday, man, it's not going to be a lot of fun playing the game or coaching the game. So, I remind myself, as I tell them, to enjoy the victory. I remind myself. Then we'll wake up tomorrow, man, eyes towards the next opponent.”