Notre Dame Football: 5 Best Moments for the Fighting Irish from Stanford Rivalry

For a series that first began when Notre Dame football and Stanford met in the Rose Bowl in 1925 and, recently, has featured a couple of ranked opponents battling with national implications at stake, the Notre Dame-Stanford rivalry is relatively understated, at least according to Irish head coach Brian Kelly.

“It’s a shame because both of them have incredible graduation rates as well,” Kelly said. “I think it should be talked a lot more about. … We’ve got to make up a name. I think it’s up to you guys to come up with a name for this game so we can get in with the in-crowd, and then I think people will pay more attention to it.”

Kelly jokingly mentioned Bedlam and the Iron Bowl. Yet few series can match the output of Notre Dame-Stanford in recent years. Saturday marks the fifth consecutive meeting both the Irish (No. 6) and the Cardinal (No. 9) will be ranked. Each of the last three meetings has been decided by seven points or fewer.

Let’s look back at five of the best moments for Notre Dame in the 29-game history of its rivalry with Stanford, from dramatic wins to pivotal victories to standout individual performances.

Goal-Line Stand, 2012

Arguably the defining moment of Notre Dame’s undefeated regular season and trip to the national championship game in 2012 occurred in mid-October, when the Irish were sitting on five wins.

After Kyle Brindza drilled a 22-yard field goal to tie the game, 13-13, with 20 seconds remaining in regulation, TJ Jones hauled in a seven-yard pass from Tommy Rees in the first possession of overtime.

Cardinal running back Stepfan Taylor took Stanford down to the Notre Dame 4-yard line with a 13-yard rumble.

From there, Notre Dame’s defense delivered four straight times, keeping Taylor out of the end zone and sending the Irish to a 6-0 record with the overtime triumph.

Rose Bowl Win, 1925

Associated Press

On New Year’s Day in 1925, Irish head coach Knute Rockne led his squad out west to clash with Stanford and head coach Pop Warner.

Notre Dame pulled out a 27-10 win to claim its first consensus national championship.

As noted by Blue & Gold Illustrated’s Lou Somogyi, the game is packed with historical meaning, from the Irish traveling west and building a national fanbase to reinforcing the story of “The Four Horsemen.”

“Had Notre Dame lost this game, the backfield would not have been immortalized the way it is today,” Somogyi wrote. “It would have been like the New York Jets and Joe Namath losing Super Bowl III, with Namath getting lambasted as a loudmouth who couldn’t deliver on his guarantee.”

Darius Walker Touchdown Run, 2005

Ten years ago, Notre Dame was looking to become BCS bowl-eligible and earn a spot in its first BCS bowl game in five years.

But the 8-2 Irish needed to topple the Cardinal in Stanford Stadium in the regular-season finale.

Down nine points (23-14) early in the fourth quarter, Stanford went to work and eventually grabbed a 31-30 lead with 1:46 remaining in regulation after Matt Traverso snatched a four-yard touchdown grab two plays after the 76-yard hookup between T.C. Ostrander and Mark Bradford.

But Brady Quinn, Jeff Samardzija, Maurice Stovall and Darius Walker had answers. The Irish eventually posted 663 yards of total offense, as Quinn threw for 432 yards and three scores, and Samardzija (eight catches for 191 yards and two touchdowns) and Stovall (7-136-1) posted prolific days. Walker scampered for 186 yards, none bigger than the final six.

Walker took the handoff from Quinn and muscled into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown, which held up after a review. Walked added a two-point conversion off a direct snap, and Notre Dame solidified a trip to the Fiesta Bowl to face Ohio State.

Ben Koyack Touchdown Catch, 2014

Last season, No. 9 Notre Dame returned home for another October meeting with No. 14 Stanford inside Notre Dame Stadium.

Another defensive slugfest ensued, as the Irish limited Stanford to just 205 yards of total offense. The game remained tied, 7-7, until midway through the fourth quarter, when Brindza connected on a 45-yard field goal for the Irish. Remound Wright countered with an 11-yard touchdown run to lift Stanford ahead 14-10, however, with 3:01 remaining in regulation.

The Irish took over at their own 35-yard line after a kickoff out of bounds, and quarterback Everett Golson found Corey Robinson for a pair of completions, and the Irish benefitted from a pass interference call against the Cardinal. Yet the Stanford defense stiffened, and Notre Dame faced 4th-and-11 from the Cardinal 23-yard line with 1:09 remaining.

That’s when Golson rolled out and found senior tight end Ben Koyack waiting in the back of the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown grab and, minutes later, a 17-14 victory and a 5-0 record.

Third-Quarter Surge, 2002

MICHAEL CONROY/Associated Press

Tyrone Willingham

First-year head coach Tyrone Willingham welcomed his former Stanford team to Notre Dame Stadium in just his fifth game at the helm of the Irish.

And with the Cardinal leading 7-3 at halftime and deep into the third quarter, Notre Dame needed a jolt. The Irish sure delivered, scoring three touchdowns in a span of three minutes and 13 seconds. Twenty-four seconds after a short Rashon Powers-Neal touchdown run, Shane Walton picked off Chris Lewis and returned it 18 yards to the house. Minutes later, linebacker Courtney Watson did the same and brought it back 34 yards to widen the lead to 24-7.

Notre Dame improved to 5-0 and, despite three losses in its final five games, including a Gator Bowl loss, reached 10 wins—the most for a first-year head coach in Irish history—for the first time since 1993.

All quotes were obtained firsthand and all stats courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is the lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.