Jeremiyah Love hurt in No. 9 Notre Dame’s rout of Stanford 49-20

STANFORD, Calif. — Luke Talich scored on an 84-yard fake punt pass and No. 9 Notre Dame won its 10th straight, defeating Stanford 49-20 Saturday night after a scary moment for star running back Jeremy Love.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said afterward that he believed his team had done enough to be considered for the CFP.

“We improved as much as anyone in the country, played as well as anyone in the country, and we have, in my opinion, the best player in the country,” Freeman said. “That's what you want. You want the best teams in the country now. Who are the best teams for the playoffs right now? I truly believe we are united.”

Jeremiah Love's Heisman Trophy candidacy gains momentum during Notre Dame's November highlight reel

The fourth largest player in the country and Heisman Trophy contenderLove was stunned after taking a small lead midway through the first quarter. He remained down for a few moments, went to the locker room and returned only in the second half.

Love finished with 66 yards (8 on the return) and scored his 21st touchdown of the season, breaking Jerome Bettis' school record for total touchdowns and tying Audris Estime's record of 18 rushing touchdowns in a season.

“I walked into the tent and it was like I immediately felt good,” Love said. “But they wanted to make sure I was okay. Everything came out right. Just a bruise.”

Backups Jadarian Price and Aneyas Williams combined for 178 yards of offense and four touchdowns.

C.J. Carr threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns as Notre Dame (10-2) retained the Legends Trophy.

Elijah Brown passed for 204 yards and a touchdown with one interception for Stanford (4-8). Emmett Kenny added two field goals.

“The culture that the players created, the way we operated … we didn't get as many wins as we wanted, but we made progress there,” Stanford interim coach Frank Reich said. “This program will bring a lot more wins, trust me.”

Talic scored on a pass from Joshua Burnham on 4th-and-19 in the second quarter.

“We had been working on something for a couple of weeks and knew that if we got a certain look, we would test it,” Freeman said. “Then we got the look we wanted, tested it and executed it.”

The Irish scored touchdowns on each of their first four drives, led 28-3 at halftime, then coasted. This is the fourth time in the last eight seasons that Notre Dame has a winning streak of 10 or more games.

Conclusion

Notre Dame: The Irish have a good chance of making the playoffs. All 10 of their wins were by double digits.

Stanford: Former Cardinal guard Tavita Pritchard will take over as head coach next season.

Next

Notre Dame awaits playoff announcement.