Notre Dame Week 7 highlight — Eli Raridon finds the end zone

Add Eli Raridon to the score sheet.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard has distributed the ball around to eight different receivers against the Stanford Cardinal — nine, if you count offensive lineman Pat Coogan catching a deflected pass.

Tight end Eli Raridon’s first catch of the day ended up being a 5-yard touchdown reception that finished off a 5-play, 64-yard drive that burned 2:37 off the clock. Raridon scored with 1:29 remaining in the third quarter.

Notre Dame now leads the Cardinal 42-7.

Any concern about the Irish overlooking Stanford after a slow start seems to have evaporated.

Notre Dame’s Eli Raridon during Notre Dame Fall Camp on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at Irish Athletics Center in South Bend, Indiana.

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Notre Dame Week 7 highlight: Jeremiyah Love helps the Irish pile on the points

Love, Price — both have found the end zone today.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are currently putting a hurt on the Stanford Cardinal in South Bend, and Jeremiyah Love’s 39-yard touchdown run has put the Fighting Irish up 35-7 over the Cardinal.

Love, who was mysteriously uninvolved in the game early, capped off a 4-play, 83-yard drive that took just 1:23 off the clock and scored with 6:49 remaining in the third quarter.

Notre Dame started slow but has scored 35 unanswered points after allowing an early touchdown to Stanford.

The Irish’s defense has also seemingly adjusted to a Stanford offense that likes to show different looks to keep opposing teams off balance.

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (4) hurdles over Northern Illinois safety Nate Valcarcel on his way to score a touchdown during a NCAA college football game at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend.

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Notre Dame Week 7 highlight — Jadarian Price touchdown extends the lead

Stanford pays the Price after an interception.

It took just two plays for Notre Dame to score a touchdown after Josh Burnham’s interception.

Running back Jadarian Price used some nifty moves to carry the ball 17 yards for a score with 12:12 left in the third quarter. The drive took just 40 seconds off the clock and put the Fighting Irish up 28-7 over the Stanford Cardinal in South Bend.

Price now has 9 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown on the day.

Notre Dame is looking to put Stanford away as it continues to attempt to keep its playoff hopes alive.

Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price runs the ball up the field during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Northern Illinois at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend.

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Notre Dame Week 7 highlight: Josh Burnham picks one off

Josh Burnham is back in a big way.

Notre Dame defensive lineman Josh Burnham returned after missing three games and has made an impact in the third quarter with an athletic interception.

Burnham wasn’t able to take it to the house — for a split-second it appeared he might have a pick-six — but he did kill a Stanford drive that seemed promising for the Cardinal after they were backed up against their own goal line.

It also gave the Fighting Irish a short field, making it easier for the offense to extend the lead.

Josh Burnham makes a key pick against Stanford.
Joshua Burnham DL of the Fighting Irish at Notre Dame football practice at the Irish Athletic Center on August 7, 2023.

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Notre Dame Week 7 highlight: Kris Mitchell catches touchdown pass before halftime

Kris Mitchell caught a key TD before the half.

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard found wide receiver Kris Mitchell for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 1:11 remaining in the first half to put the Fighting Irish up 21-7 over the visiting Stanford Cardinal in South Bend.

The pass capped off a 9-play, 56-yard drive that took 2:37 off the clock. The 21-7 lead would stand heading into halftime.

Notre Dame started slow but rallied and controlled most of the remainder of the first half. If the Irish can maintain that level of performance, they should be able to avoid a season-crushing upset as they cling to college football playoff hopes.

Notre Dame wide receiver Kris Mitchell participates in a drill during a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in South Bend.

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Notre Dame Week 7 highlight: Pat Coogan averts disaster

Pat Coogan gets a most unexpected first down.

Notre Dame offensive lineman Pat Coogan made an athletic play to get a first down on what could’ve been a Stanford interception of a Riley Leonard pass.

Stanford Cardinal linebacker Gaethan Bernadel batted the pass up in the air and the ball found its way to Coogan who caught it and carried for the first down.

Usually offensive linemen have to report as eligible before catching a pass. In this case, an alert Coogan made sure the Irish retained the football — and got a key first down.

Unexpected catches by the big fellows are always fun.

Sep 30, 2023; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Audric Estime (7) follows a block by offensive lineman Pat Coogan (78) against the Duke Blue Devils during the first quarter at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

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Notre Dame Week 7 highlight: Riley Leonard fakes run, passes to Jayden Thomas for TD

Riley Leonard had a nice pass to Jayden Thomas.

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard has run for one touchdown so far and thrown for another against the Stanford Cardinal in South Bend.

This time, Leonard faked a handoff to Jeremiyah Love on a run-pass option and then found Jayden Thomas for a 15-yard touchdown pass that capped off a 7-play, 52-yard drive that took 3:20 off the clock.

The Fighting Irish started the drive at midfield after Howard Cross sacked Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels on fourth-and-5.

Notre Dame now leads the Cardinal 14-7 early in the second quarter.

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard warms up before a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Stanford at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in South Bend.

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Notre Dame Week 7 highlight: Riley Leonard finds the end zone to tie it at 7

Notre Dame ties it, sighs of relief sound across South Bend.

Notre Dame once again got off to a rough start against an underdog opponent — this time the Stanford Cardinal.

A holding call against Anthonie Knapp and a sack allowed by Knapp stalled a promising first drive for the Fighting Irish. Then the Notre Dame defense struggled to stop Stanford and the Cardinal punched it in from the goal line.

The Irish answered by moving the ball downfield with a mix of runs and passes, though observers were wondering why Jadarian Price got all the carries and Jeremiyah Love wasn’t in the game. Love came in on the final play of the drive — but it was quarterback Riley Leonard taking the ball into the end zone on the ground to tie things up.

Once again, Leonard’s legs have capped off a Notre Dame drive with a touchdown.

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard makes another big-time watch list
Sep 21, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) runs for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Miami Redhawks at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame missing just one player versus Stanford

Notre Dame is pretty healthy for the matchup with Stanford.

The injury report is out for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish against the Stanford Cardinal, and all but one of the players listed on the two-deep roster this week are available.

Junior defensive lineman Jason Onye is out for personal reasons.

While it’s good news to see the Irish have a relatively clean bill of health going into the game against Stanford, the defensive line is already depleted with the losses of Jordan Botelho and Boubacar Traore for the year.

On the other hand, defensive lineman Gabe Rubio was seen participating in early warmups. Rubio broke his foot during fall camp.

Even though Notre Dame is expected to beat Stanford, the Irish can use all the help they can get on the defensive line.

Notre Dame still has playoff hopes.
Sep 28, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish long snapper Rino Monteforte (39) prepares to snap the ball on an extra point in the fourth quarter against the Louisville Cardinals at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

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Chiefs scouting report: Stanford Cardinal WR Elic Ayomanor

Stanford Cardinal wide receiver Elic Ayomanor is a potential target for the Kansas City #Chiefs in the 2025 NFL draft.

Injuries to Marquise Brown and Rashee Rice revealed the Kansas City Chiefs’ limited depth in its receiving corps. The Chiefs must continue investing assets in targets for Patrick Mahomes. Fortunately, the 2025 NFL draft will feature a deep pool of pass-catching prospects.

Stanford Cardinal wideout Elic Ayomanor is a young prospect with an impressive 6 foot 2 inch, 210-pound frame. His background as a highly coveted high school track star shows up on vertical routes in a unique way. He lacks the traditional burst associated with former track athletes but uses his long strides to build up speed and stack cornerbacks downfield.

Ayomanor’s route tree is still developing, but he knows how to manipulate leverage and freeze cornerbacks with his route tempo. He stems slant and post routes outside to draw the cornerback toward the sideline before working into space over the middle of the field.

https://twitter.com/StanfordFball/status/1837280222300745754

Ayomanor’s ability to decelerate and reaccelerate quickly is surprising for a player with his size. This helps him stack corners on stutter-go routes or break off comeback routes at the top of the stem. His ability to create natural separation as a route runner is average, but this is only his second season as a college starter. He should continue developing for several years in the NFL before nearing his peak.

Ayomanor doesn’t maximize his frame at the catch point consistently. His large catch radius and ball tracking on downfield plays stand out, but he’s not aggressive enough at the catch point to ward off defensive backs. He fights the football sometimes, causing uncontested drops. Ayomanor projects as a second or third-round selection.

Stanford goes on the road to face No. 11 Notre Dame on Oct. 12 at 2:30 p.m. CST. Stanford’s last game against a ranked opponent was a 40-14 loss to Clemson. Notre Dame defeated a ranked Louisville team 31-24 last week.