The Notre Dame defense got back on track in yesterday's dominant 58-7 victory over the visiting Stanford Cardinal. Last week, they had an uncharacteristically undisciplined performance against the North Carolina Tar Heels who are now 3-2 after picking up a big ranked win over Pitt. The Irish defense needed to get back on track after last week's performance and yesterday, they did just that. 

In the first half, they held the Cardinal offense to 82 total yards of offense and were much better on third down this weekend holding Stanford to 0-7 in the first half and 2-11 for the entire game. Stanford only scored one touchdown after the game was well in hand. Notre Dame's rush defense picked up where they left off and they shut down the Stanford passing game. Here are my key takeaways from the Notre Dame defense from yesterday's 51-point win. 

We talk on a weekly basis around who is the best, or amongst the best, at any position group across college football. Over the last couple of weeks, senior defensive end Boubacar Traore is cementing his name amongst the nation's elite. Saturday, he was utterly dominant and set the tone from the first snap of the game when he forced a fumble on strip sack. Later in the contest, Traore picked off quarterback Davis Warren and had a very impressive return. 

Traore leads the team in total pressures and has been dominant all season long. He's one of the best edge rushers in the country and is continuing to add to his resume with each passing week. A lot of attention goes to the defensive end at Texas, understandably so, but Traore is making sure his presence is felt on a national level as well. His first big test of the season comes next week when they make the trip out to Provo where the 6-5, 253-pound defensive end will have another opportunity to put on a show. 

Sophomore cornerback Jayden Sanders got the nod in the boundary yesterday afternoon with star cornerback Leonard Moore sitting out while he was working back from a concussion. Last week, Sanders had a rough performance, but bounced back in a big way against Stanford. Going into the game, we knew Warren would look in the direction of Sanders but the former Michigan transfer did not give any ground. He ended the afternoon with only one tackle, but had two pass break ups on the afternoon. Stepping into the starting lineup for any starter is a tall order, but stepping in for the best cornerback in the nation has a little something extra to it. Sanders handled business. 

We knew coming into this matchup that the Notre Dame defense, on paper, was far superior to the Stanford offense and that came true on Saturday. The Irish dominated the Cardinal offense and did it from the first snap of the game. This is one of the best defenses in the country and they continue to show up week over week. We said at the time that their performance against North Carolina was an anomaly and that proved to be correct. They will be tested in a big way next week, but this has been a spectacular unit through the first half of the season. 

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