Stanford vs Notre Dame, Bigger than just a Game
Notre Dame and Stanford have been playing since 1925. However, the series began in 1989 when they introduced a trophy called the Legends Trophy. The trophy is a Dublin Irish crystal bowl resting on a California redwood base. The Fighting Irish and Cardinal play each other yearly with alternating locations. '
Academic Excellence
Two of the premiere academic institutions playing high-level football. This gets the prestigious students involved, the academia is the reason this game can become intense and the rivalry is alive and well. The students and the alumni who know the excellence of the private school's academic achievement. When you are as smart as the students at these schools, you not only want to assert your dominance academically but also in sports, just to say "Not only are we smarter than you, but also better at sports than you." Academic excellence is also for student-athletes as they normally are at the top of almost all academic performance ratings each year.
Head Coach Marcus Freeman on the rivalry
Before even being asked a question about the rivalry Coach Freeman called the game a rivalry instantly. Almost like he understands the history behind this game.
"Going into this week moving forward, it’s a rivalry game. We’ll have a motivated Stanford team that is really actually if you watch the film and I haven’t watched as much as I need to yet and I will"
Later in the press conference, Freeman expanded on the rivalry between both teams. When the head coaches are talking about the rivalry, you best believe that the teams understand the meaning behind this game. Freeman explains how he played in a big rivalry in college, and how he had to learn about the Stanford and Notre Dame Rivalry last year. He understands he must make sure his team is aware of the rivalry and the history behind it. How they prepare this week is for a rival opponent, that will be ready for this game.
"We respected the rivalry. When it was that week of that game, you understood what that rivalry meant and the history behind it. I think that’s the same thing for this game. They got to understand what the legends trophy is all about. I had to. I didn’t know much about it last year. I knew Stanford was a good team. I didn’t know about the rivalry. We have to make sure they understand what the rivalry is about, what we’re playing for and then respect the opponent. When you say embracing the rivalry, it’s about respect for your opponent. How do you respect your opponent? It’s by the way you prepare."
Head Coach David Shaw on the Rivalry
Coach Shaw went on record stating the academic level of each school and added the character element to the list. He understands the level of each school, not their football program's history. They may not be in the same conference but the rivalry is definitely there and the history proves it.
“To me, this rivalry is a little bit different. We’re not in the same conference, but we choose to play each other every year. There is an academic standard that both places have. There is a high character element on each football team. There is appreciation for what each campus does. Not to mention there is a history for both football programs. There have been times where we’ve won back-to-back games. There have been times where they’ve won back-to-back games. There are times when we’ve split back and forth. There are times when we’d win at Notre Dame and they’d win at Stanford. There are all different kinds."
The game is bigger than just a game this week, it becomes a rivalry that the alumni show up for, or prepare for. This game has the Legends Trophy on the line. Whether it is a close game or a blowout, the history is on the line, who gets to take home a trophy and celebrate a win over a rival? This should be a game all alumni are watching. As coach Shaw expresses the alumni will be out in full force for both teams.
“There have been one-score games. There have been games where we left that game feeling a certain kind of way. There are games where we came back, got the ball with less than 20 seconds, hit two plays and kicked the game-winning field goal. So games have been back and forth, highly-contested. I think the alumni base of both places really appreciate this game and they come out in force. We’ll have a lot of Stanford people out there who are on the East Coast and Midwest. Both fan bases, both alumni bases really appreciate this rivalry.”
Who Takes Home the Legends Trophy
Both teams did not start the year off how they wanted. Notre Dame was hoping to make the college football playoffs and make a run at a national championship prior to losing back-to-back weeks to start the season with one being a major upset. Stanford may have had championship hopes, but they were realistically looking to get into a bowl game which is roughly winning 6 games on the year. They have dropped 4 straight games. Now both teams will have a chance at mid-season hardware with the Legends Trophy on the line. From bigger aspirations to hoping they can at least have the rivalry trophy mid-season.
Notre Dame is the better team right now, they have gotten on a roll over the past few weeks, including an upset win over BYU. Whereas, Stanford just lost in dramatic fashion last week to Oregon State. Now when rivalry's occur teams tend to play with a chip on their shoulders, so anything is possible. I just think Stanford is outmatched and will be able to maybe compete in this one until the game gets a bit out of hand. I expect Notre Dame to win this year's Legends Trophy with ease.
