Big Picture
Notre Dame football capped off the Week 6 mark with one of its most decisive wins so far. Last week they gave the fan base some early October scaries against North Carolina but made sure to dispel any doubts about their overall trajectory with a 58-7 win over the Stanford Cardinal.
The Irish are averaging 44 points per game through Week 5 and this Week 6 game was their highest scoring outing of the 2026-27 season. The +51 point differential was the second largest, following the +52 shutout of Rice,
and Notre Dame’s average differential is now notched at +33.
Stanford went scoreless in the game’s first half, with Notre Dame going 14-0 in the first quarter and 23-0 in the second quarter. The Cardinal finally made their way onto the scoreboard in the third quarter, tying the Irish 7-7. But things ended statistically as they started with a 14-0 split in favor of Notre Dame.
Yardage Summary
The Irish offense put up 598 total yards in the Stanford rout. It was their highest production game through Week 6, surpassing the 478-yard performance against Rice by more than 100 yards.
The Irish’s passing stats are remarkably consistent with six games under the belt. ND quarterbacks put up 237 passing yards against Stanford and are averaging 262 passing yards per game. The passing unit went 19 for 27 pass attempts for a 70% completion rate.
The team’s big leap in offensive production was primarily because of the rushing attack. Itish rushers hit a previous season high of 241 rushing yards last week against North Carolina and jumped up to 361 yards earned on the ground against Stanford. The group gained all of that in 47 total attempts, averaging 8.8 yards per carry.
The Quarterback Stats
CJ Carr led the offense for the bulk of the game. He completed 14 of his 20 pass attempts for a 70% completion rate. He tallied up 181 passing yards and threw three passing touchdowns. His 20 pass attempts are tied with the Rice game for the lowest total at this point in the season.
Noah Grubbs got playing time for the third game so far in the 2026-27 season. He went five for seven and finished with 56 passing yards against the Cardinal.
The Rushers
Jonaz Walton’s ascension in the rushing stable took another major leap during Week 6. The freshman running back finished the Stanford game with 13 carries for 181 yards and an average of 13.9 yards earned per carry. Walton was also responsible for two of the team’s collective five rushing touchdowns against Stanford, including a 97-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Nolan James Jr. walked away from the game with ten rush attempts for 73 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Freshman running back Javian Osborne made his second appearance of the season. He finished with six carries for 31 yards and a 3-yard rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Jonaz Walton now leads the team’s primary running backs with 409 yards earned, followed by Nolan James Jr. with 335 yards and Aneyas Williams with 294 yards.
The Receivers
We got to see a lot more of what Notre Dame ball catchers have in terms of depth in the dominating Stanford victory.
Junior running back Aneyas Williams has been slipping in his rushing production but he closed out the Stanford game with one catch, a 70-yard touchdown reception late in the second quarter.
Sophomore wide receiver Elijah Burress made his second in-game appearance and walked away with a 30-yard touchdown catch.
Senior wide receiver Jaden Greathouse logged three catches for 30 yards and one receiving touchdown.
Freshman running back Jonaz Walton flexed some receiving prowess to complement his rushing performance, recording two catches for 28 yards.
Junior tight end Jack Larsen logged two catches for 21 yards in his first game of the season.
Senior wide receiver Jordan Faison brought down three catches for 16 yards.
The Defensive Stats
It was another game where you couldn’t help but see the Irish’s defensive domination with your eyes, but the stat sheet didn’t necessarily reflect it.
Senior defensive lineman Boubacar Traore was responsible for the team’s only sack of the game. But what an impactful sack it was. Traore demolished the Stanford quarterback, Davis Warre, on the first offensive play of the game and knocked the ball loose for a fumble that was recovered by Jaiden Ausberry.
Traore was also responsible for the team’s sole tackle for loss.
Senior defensive lineman Keon Keeley had one pass deflection and sophomore cornerback logged two pass deflections.
This is the fourth game of the season where the Irish grabbed an interception, and the third game where they had two interceptions. Boubacar Traore was responsible for one of this week’s interceptions and sophomore cornerback Mark Zackery IV nabbed the other interception.
The Irish defense is allowing an average of 214 yards of total offense per game through Week 6 and Stanford put up 202 yards.
The defense is allowing 156 passing yards by opponents per game, with Stanford logging 144 yards through the air.
The defensive unit has dominated upfront, only allowing an average of 58 yards on the ground by opponents. Stanford hit right at the average mark with 58 rushing yards against Notre Dame in Week 6.
The Flow Stats
Notre Dame had eleven full offensive drives and turned nine of those into points.
Closing Thoughts
The Irish continue their dominant 2026-27 CFB march with the win over Stanford. They’ve now defeated five Power 4 opponents and two ACC members. The Stanford football program is in a really rough place so there’s not a ton about this game’s outcome to gloat about. But Notre Dame’s stats are definitely accomplishing the goal of Leave No Doubt, regardless of the level of competition they’ve faced so far.
They face off against BYU next weekend, though, and we’ll finally get a chance to see the team make their case for why they deserve to be sitting at the top of the sports’ standings.
