Notre Dame is eager to clamp down on defense yet again this weekend.
The No. 3 Fighting Irish (5-0) have allowed 13 or fewer points in four of their first five games. Notre Dame allowed a season-high 26 points in a victory over North Carolina last week, but the defense tallied two takeaways and is looking for more.
That could be bad news for Stanford (2-3) when the teams match up Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Ind.
“The defense will get back to work,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “The coaches and the players are hungry to get back out there.”
Notre Dame returns home for the first time since Sept. 19, when it beat Michigan State 27-10. The Fighting Irish have knocked off three Big Ten teams in Wisconsin, Purdue and the Spartans and now they will try to beat Atlantic Coast Conference programs two weeks in a row after holding off the Tar Heels last week.
Freeman said he expects Stanford to give the Fighting Irish their best shot.
“There was a lot of good, a lot of things to improve on as we get ready for this next opportunity against Stanford: 2-3 team (with a) first-year head coach in Tavita Pritchard.
“I don’t know him but I’ve heard really good things about him,” said Freeman about Stanford first-year head coach Tavita Pritchard.
“He obviously played at Stanford, so he understands the rivalry. I think that’s important that our guys understand that their head coach has been a part of this rivalry. They’ll be fired up, ready to come into Notre Dame Stadium.”
Stanford has wins over Hawaii and Georgia Tech, but the Cardinal have lost in blowout fashion against Miami, Duke and Wake Forest. They are coming off their worst loss of the season after the Demon Deacons handed them a 57-3 defeat on Saturday.
Pritchard said there is no point in dwelling on last week’s loss.
Instead, he has a simple request for his players as they turn their attention to the Fighting Irish.
“Asking for focus this week,” Pritchard said. “One thing I felt we lost in that game (against Wake Forest) was our ability to focus on what was right in front of us. I felt like for whatever reason, we lost focus of our responsibilities or our technique, or certain things and again, that comes back to the holistic process: staff, players and what we’re asking them to do.
“And so (we’re) taking a hard look at the focus on for the staff, on what our players are doing, what we’re doing in practice, what we’re asking them to do, and then for the players of showing up with extreme focus, with a focus to get better at their respective role and responsibility throughout the week. That’s what I’m asking for this week.”
Quarterback CJ Carr leads Notre Dame with 1,197 yards, 13 touchdowns and one interception this season. Aneyas Williams has a team-high 266 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, while Jordan Faison is the top receiver with 25 catches for 371 yards and four touchdowns.
Stanford is led by quarterback Davis Warren, who has passed for 1,207 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. Micah Ford has rushed for 302 yards and four touchdowns, and Caden High has hauled in 17 passes for 266 yards and three scores.