The last word: Final thoughts before Notre Dame football vs. Stanford

This is one last chance for a business-like road victory. Notre Dame has only had one of those this year, and it came way back on Sept. 9 — the first time the Fighting Irish played a true road game in 2023.

Man, would the Irish ever love to show up at Stanford, make a mockery of the Cardinal — respectfully, of course — on their home field as so many teams have done before them this year and get on home with a ninth win. Get in, get out. Play the game on your terms.

Now isn’t the time to play with food. This is not a week for that. Thanksgiving is a business-like holiday if you really treat it like you should. No wasted space on the plate. And once it’s in front of you, devour it piece by piece until it’s so spotless even the dog couldn’t get much satisfaction from licking it clean.

And if you really play your cards right, you get a second plate and do it all over again. Notre Dame should have no problem going in for seconds against a Stanford team that has not won a game at home this season. There should be no reason that the Cardinal is not destined for a third consecutive 3-9 season by halftime.

There is only one team in the FBS that is easier to throw on than Stanford. The Cardinal allow 312.4 passing yards per game. South Florida gives up 313.6. You want at least one more core memory in a Notre Dame uniform, Sam Hartman? Go do what everyone else has done in 2023 and put up a big number on Troy Taylor‘s team.

When Notre Dame went out west to finish the season at Stanford in 2021, the Irish were a heavy favorite. You felt like they were going to blow the Cardinal out, and that’s exactly what happened. It was 24-0 at halftime in an eventual 45-14 thrashing.

Marcus Freeman, take notes from your predecessor’s final game as the head coach of the Blue and Gold. Brian Kelly hardly lost games he shouldn’t, and often times when he was supposed to squash a lesser opponent that’s exactly what his teams did.

This isn’t a Brian Kelly appreciation post by any means, but it is a call to action for Notre Dame doing what Notre Dame is supposed to do. This week, that’s beat Stanford. By a lot.

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