Airing It Out: Notre Dame football dispatches Stanford 49-7

For a brief moment, as Notre Dame clung to a 14-7 lead late in the second quarter, Pat Coogan was wide receiver No. 1.

Coogan saw senior quarterback Riley Leonard’s second-down pass deflect into his midsection, batted by a Stanford linebacker who sat on the run-pass option. He caught it at the Cardinal’s 25-yard line, first contacted a defender at the 21 and barreled his way to the 16. The senior center dragged three would-be tacklers with him for a first down.

“I see the ball, it’s in the air and I grab it and run,” Coogan said. “It was an instinctual thing that happened.”

It was that kind of day for the Irish, who would soon go up by two scores on a 5-yard bullet from Leonard to graduate student wide receiver Kris Mitchell. They were not always perfect, but they made more than enough plays to get it done.

Notre Dame beat Stanford 49-7 on Saturday in South Bend, scoring 49 unanswered points after the Cardinal struck first. The Irish finally broke out their passing game and improved to 5-1.

“I think [the receivers have] been open all year,” Leonard said. “I haven’t thrown it to them. I just threw them the ball today, pretty much. And look what happened.”

Leonard was the catalyst, putting together his best passing day in a blue-and-gold uniform to date.

The Duke transfer signal-caller completed 16 of 22 throws for 229 yards with 3 touchdowns. Two of his scores came on RPOs, which Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock hammered to exploit Stanford’s vulnerable pass defense.

First, Leonard fired a 15-yard laser to senior wide receiver Jayden Thomas, giving Notre Dame a 14-7 lead it would not relinquish. He later hit Mitchell, marking the Florida International transfer’s first score with the Irish.

“The way their defense was structured, we knew we’d have to take advantage of that,” Leonard said. “Nothing crazy, nothing rocket science, just simple RPOs. But when they’re done and executed so often, you become very comfortable with it and execute it really well.”

Leonard capped off his prolific day with a third touchdown on play action to junior tight end Eli Raridon, set up by a 53-yard bomb to senior wide receiver Beaux Collins. He fired completions to nine different receivers, including Coogan.

After enduring calls for his job throughout the first five weeks with the Irish, Leonard silenced his critics, at least for now. He tore through his previous season high in yards per attempt, finishing with 10.4. He also doubled his season total in touchdown passes, moving to 6 through the air and 8 on the ground with a first-quarter rushing score.

The Irish believed a performance like this was coming. Denbrock said earlier in the week that Leonard’s growth and confidence on the practice field indicated it was time to “kick into gear.”

“The execution in practice has been really at a high level,” Freeman said. “I just challenge them: ‘If we execute in the game the way you guys have been doing it in practice, we’ll recognize it, but a lot of people won’t.'”

Leonard recognized it. He also recognized the fans on the edge of the tunnel cheering his name as he left the field, as opposed to his backup’s. He spent the fourth quarter donning a backward baseball cap, playing catch with sophomore quarterback Kenny Minchey and showing off one-handed catches to the crowd’s delight.

“Mentally, I was beginning to have this carefree mindset,” Leonard said. “I only got one opportunity for this, so we’re gonna let the ball fly around.”

Notre Dame will hit the road next week for a matchup with Georgia Tech. The Irish will take on the Yellow Jackets at 3:30 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and they’ll do so with their College Football Playoff goals well within reach.