For the 25th time, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will square off with the Stanford Cardinal in the battle for the Legends Trophy. This rivalry may not have the same luster as it did in the early 2010s, but this is still an opponent that Marcus Freeman does not intend to overlook. Stanford is under new management with head coach Tavita Pritchard stepping into the spotlight. He has a host of experienced and veteran players at his disposal and although the stats don't necessarily back that up, the Irish will have to be prepared for a tough and gritty opponent Saturday afternoon. 

Location: Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.)
Date: Saturday - October 10
Time: 3:30 PM ET
TV: NBC/Peacock
Line: Notre Dame -37.5; O/U 54.5

Let's kick off our preview of this matchup with an overview look at the Stanford Cardinal

Record at Stanford: 2-3

Back in November of 2025, shortly after the end of the regular season, Stanford and general manager Andrew Luck named Pritchard, a former Cardinal quarterback, as their next head coach. The former Stanford signal caller has spent time on the Cardinal coaching staff in previous years. From 2010-2018, he held various roles including running backs coach, quarterbacks and wide receivers coach and was the offensive coordinator from 2018-2022. From 2023-2025, Pritchard coached quarterbacks for the Washington Commanders but returned to his alma mater to be their next head coach. 

This is rivalry game that Pritchard won't back down from. During his time as an assistant coach, Stanford beat the Irish seven times including in Freeman's first year in 2022. Pritchard was the offensive coordinator of the '22 Stanford team that came into South Bend and shocked the Irish in a 16-14 upset win. It's been tough sledding for the first-year head coach, but in a loss to Miami and a gritty win over Georgia Tech, he's shown that he has the chops to be 'the guy' for this program. 

Offensive Coordinator: Terry Heffernan (1st season)
Defensive Coordinator: Kris Richard (1st season) 

Rushing: RB Micah Ford - 82 att., 302 yards, 3.7 YPC, 4 TD; RB Sedrick Irvin - 35 att., 145 yards, 4.1 YPC; RB Champ Hampton - 6 att., 27 yards, 4.5 YPC

Passing: QB Davis Warren - 102-173, 59.0%, 1,207 yards, 7.0 YPA, 5 TD, 1 INT, 126.1 Rating 

Receiving: WR Caden High - 17 rec., 266 yards, 15.6 YPC, 3 TD; TE Benji Blackburn - 20 rec., 159 yards, 8.0 YPC; WR Zion Robinson - 7 rec., 155 yards, 22.1 YPC; WR Nico Brown - 10 rec., 148 yards, 14.8 YPC, 1 TD; WR JonAnthony Hall - 7 rec., 132 yards, 18.9 YPC; WR Jordan Onovughe - 10 rec., 98 yards, 9.8 YPC; WR Atticus Joseph - 8 rec., 83 yards, 10.4 YPC, 1 TD; RB Micah Ford - 11 rec., 65 yards, 5.9 YPC

Tackles: LB Matt Rose - 38; S Jay Green - 31; LB Sam Mattingly - 23; S Charlie Eckhardt - 22; LB Jahsiah Galvan - 21; S Darrius Davis - 20; CB Leroy Bryant - 16; LB Zach Johnson - 16; EDGE Tavarua Tafiti - 15; DE Omar Staples - 14; DT Zach Rowell - 12; S Scotty Edwards - 11

Tackles For Loss: LB Matt Rose - 4.0; DE Omar Staples - 2.5; DE Gabe Kaminski - 2.0; DT Braden Marceau-Olayinka - 1.5; EDGE Ernest Cooper - 1.5; DT Zach Rowell - 1.5; S Jay Green - 1.0 

Interceptions: S Darrius Davis - 1; CB Brandon Nicholson - 1; S Charlie Eckhardt - 1

It's been a 2-3 start for the Stanford Cardinal and in some cases, they look significantly improved from last season. But in other areas, they still have a ways to go. Against the three best teams they've played up to this point, Miami, Duke and Wake Forest, the Cardinal were out scored a combined 137-16. The just don't have the athletes overall to compete with those teams, but they looked gritty in their home win over Georgia Tech (34-27). 

They're led by a good mixture of returning players and portal additions. Quarterback Davis Warren has performed significantly better under center than what his reputation might have been in the preseason after his performance at Michigan in 2024. Running back Micah Ford can still hurt you on the ground and they have good individual talent in the front seven of their defense including linebacker Matt Rose who missed last week's game against Wake Forest and edge player Tevarau Tafiti. 

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