Just when it looked like Notre Dame’s season might be back on track, the Irish lost to a Stanford team that didn’t have an FBS win.
Notre Dame makes no sense in 2022.
The Irish pushed Ohio State to the brink. Then lost to Marshall. They bested a ranked BYU team on the road. Then they lost to Stanford?
Seriously, they lost to Stanford.
No, not a Stanford team at the height of the Davis Shaw era. They lost, 16-14, to a Stanford team that was winless against FBS opponents.
It’s going to take a while for Notre Dame fans to process that one. The college football media didn’t need to wait to absolutely destroy the Irish on Twitter.
College football media blasts Notre Dame for Stanford loss
This Stanford team — on an 11-game losing streak vs. FBS competition — just went into South Bend and beat Notre Dame. Marcus Freeman looks stunned on the sideline.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) October 16, 2022
Stanford and Colorado win on the same day. Hope for the hopeless and cheer for the cheerless in the Pac-12.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) October 16, 2022
Marshall and Stanford vs Notre Dame: 2-0
Marshall and Stanford vs all other FBS opps: 0-7
— Chris Fallica (@chrisfallica) October 16, 2022
Marcus Freeman seven games into his tenure:
— 3-4 overall
— Three game losing streak to start his tenure
— Lost to a Sun Belt team at home
— Lost to a Stanford team on an 11 game FBS losing streak (also at home)
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) October 16, 2022
After going to a neutral site and beating #16 BYU just *one week ago* ND looked completely lost at home against Stanford. Stanford’s only loses this season are now to COLGATE and Notre Dame. My goodness that was difficult to watch.
— Jessica Smetana (@jessica_smetana) October 16, 2022
Wow – Irish money guys will want this guy gone. Marcus freeman just lost to a terrible Stanford team at home. It’s about to get ugly in South Bend. No chance this is tolerated. He was handed a Ferrari and turned it into a Prius.
— John Middlekauff (@JohnMiddlekauff) October 16, 2022
there’s plenty of blame for Notre Dame’s season to go around but I’m choosing to put most of it on promoting Cris Collinsworth’s kid to play-by-play
— Matt Hinton (@MattRHinton) October 16, 2022
Is Notre Dame scared of joining the Big Ten because they’re scared of the Stanford game counting towards conference standings? People are asking.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) October 16, 2022
Stanford’s defense against Power 5 teams this year. Total yardage and yards per play allowed:
USC: 505 (8.0)
Washington: 478 (6.9)
Oregon: 515 (7.3)
Oregon State: 442 (6.5)
Notre Dame 301 (4.9)
— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) October 16, 2022
This is Marcus Freeman’s first loss since converting to Catholicism.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) October 16, 2022
Stanford imposed their will on Notre Dame from the start of the game. They led 13-0 in the third quarter until the Irish hit back with their first touchdown of the game.
Things were looking much better for Notre Dame when Drew Pyne hit Tobias Merriweather for a 41-yard touchdown to take the lead at 14-13. It wasn’t long before Stanford answered with a field goal. Notre Dame went on to fumble on their next drive and lose the ball on downs on their final possession.
The Irish are now 3-3 with questions once again swirling around their entire coaching staff. A loss to Ohio State was one thing. Losing to Marshall in a letdown was not good, but it didn’t need to be the end of the world. Struggling against Cal was rough but at least they found a way to win. Losing at home to Stanford is beyond bad.
Marcus Freeman has some explaining to do.
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