Stanford Falls In Final Game Of The Pac-12 Era To Notre Dame

The Stanford Cardinal were unable to pull off the upset against Notre Dame

The Stanford Cardinal came out strong against No. 18 Notre Dame in their season finale, but were unable to capitalize on prime opportunities and sustain their lead losing 56-23. 

Stanford was forced to settle for a field goal to go up 3-0, which they followed up with a great play on defense from Jshawn Frausto-Ramos who stripped Notre Dame's Sam Hartman and recovered the fumble himself. With a chance to punch Notre Dame in the mouth and go up 10-0, Stanford instead stalled on offense and was forced to punt. 

Notre Dame scored a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead, but Stanford charged down the field thanks to a 53-yard catch by E.J. Smith. They eventually worked their way to the Notre Dame 10, but were unable to get into the end zone. They settled for another field goal making it 7-6, but got the ball back right away after Notre Dame fumbled the ball on the kickoff. It took the Cardinal just two plays to score, as Tiger Bachmeier ran it in for six from 14 yards out to put Stanford up 13-7.

Stanford wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

Had they capitalized on earlier drives, they'd be up 21-7 by that point, but that wasn't in the cards for the offense which became extremely inconsistent over the last month. 

Notre Dame answered to make it 14-13, and after a punt Stanford again made a huge play on defense as true freshman Che Ojarikre picked off Hartman for their third turnover of the first half. The offense again couldn't get things going, and had to rely on Josh Karty again who made the field goal to take a 16-14 lead. Notre Dame scored a touchdown to go up 21-16, and quarterback Ashton Daniels was picked off after just throwing one up on Stanford's next possession. 

Notre Dame went on to score six unanswered touchdowns, and before you knew it, a game that was back-and-forth in the first half saw the Irish leading by a score of 56-16. The Cardinal added a score late in the fourth to make it more respectable, but the final score was 56-23 in favor of Notre Dame.

A tough loss to swallow considering Stanford had ample opportunities to build a double-digit lead in the first half. The Cardinal fell to 3-9 on the year, concluding the first season of the Troy Taylor era. 

A season that had a lot of ups and downs, but one that certainly hinted at improvement with a very young roster. The Cardinal will now turn their attention to recruiting and the transfer portal.