Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Week 6 Preview
By Stiofán Mac Fhilib
Notre Dame opened the ACC portion of their schedule with a 37-26 victory over Bill Belichick’s North Carolina. As they reach the midpoint of the regular season, next up is a visitor from the Pacific coast, the Stanford Cardinal.
Looking Back at Last Week
Last Saturday brought conflicting emotions for Irish fans as they watched a rollercoaster afternoon in Chapel Hill. A great response to a disappointing start and a hugely aesthetically pleasing third quarter were separated by an utter trouncing in the ‘middle 8’.
The defense looked out of sorts sometimes for the first time this season; special teams were often a hot mess, but the offense had its best game of the season, and the running game took on a whole new, and exciting, dimension.
As so often, it was a game of very fine margins. In the drier first half, CJ Carr responded to the Tar Heels taking a 7-0 lead with a pair of beautifully thrown TD passes inside the space of 15 seconds. A spectacular Faison diving catch made it 21-7, and with 3rd and goal on the UNC 1, the Irish had the chance to effectively put the game away midway through the second quarter.
A single missed block by TE Ty Washington, however, blew up Carr’s run, and uncharacteristically poor vision by the QB on 4th down, when he overlooked a wide-open Nolan James Jr. in favour of a tougher pass that Cooper Flanagan couldn’t haul in, cost ND seven points.
If Irish fans expected the defense to hold UNC on a possession starting on their own 3, they were sadly disappointed. TE Jelani Thurman caught four passes, including a 14-yard TD toss inside the final 30 seconds of the half, sealing a textbook Belichick drive.
The second half opened a bit like the 2025 Sugar Bowl, except this time Notre Dame were on the receiving end of the kickoff return TD. In the driving rain, the Extra Point attempt was fumbled and missed, leaving the Irish clinging to the lead by a solitary point.
ND couldn’t pass the ball in the conditions. UNC knew they would have to run the ball. So run it right down their throat; the Irish did. 17 plays. 3 pass attempts. 14 runs. 9:10 taken off the clock. And all capped with a CJ Carr three-yard TD run on 4th and goal. And another missed EP!
After featuring in spots in the first four games, this was freshman Jonaz Walton’s coming-out drive. He carried the rock 12 times for 63 yards en route to his first 100-yard rushing game.
A Carr TD pass to James Jr., and an insurance FG by Porath, ensured that even a late consolation Tar Heels TD couldn’t prevent another double-digit Irish win. And for the coaching staff, there is no better time to have a binder full of teachable moments than in the aftermath of such a victory on the road, especially when the Head Coach has just gone 5-0 for the first time in his career.
The Week Ahead
STANFORD CARDINAL (NOTRE DAME STADIUM); 3.30PM EST; 8.30PM IST/BST
When the Cardinal take the field on Saturday, #3 Notre Dame will face their third rivalry game in four weeks. After retaining the Megaphone Trophy (Michigan State) and the Shillelagh Trophy (Purdue), they will now attempt to hold on to the Legends Trophy.
The Irish lead this series 25-14 and are in search of their 16th consecutive double-digit win. Having beaten Stanford 56-23, 49-7 and 49-20 in the last three seasons, it will be quite the upset if they fail to achieve that particular goal.
New HC Tavita Pritchard’s team themselves are finishing a four-week run of one home game sandwiched between three long road trips east. They lost 35-7 at Duke before last week, suffering their worst defeat in over 50 years, 57-3 at Wake Forest.
QB Davis Warren, a Michigan transfer, missed all of last season with an ACL injury but has been their one bright spot on offense so far in 2026. His 5-1 TD-INT ratio is a big improvement on the 7-10 margin he posted in 2024. But for some drops by his receiving corps, his stats would be even better.
Having the time to throw will be his biggest problem on Saturday, however. His OL is average on a good day and has yet to face a defensive front as intimidating as ND’s. The run game, which features former Irish commit Sedrick Irvin, is averaging fewer than three yards per carry so far this season.
If the Irish can get pressure rushing just four, then it will be a very long afternoon indeed. Though I would expect Ash to bring more pressure on third down – Saturday is a great chance for the ND defense to improve its performance on that down.
The Cardinal defense has deteriorated remarkably in the last decade and is the main reason Stanford is the worst P4 team so far this season. They were missing Matt Rose and Jahsiah Galvan, two of their best LBs, in the loss to Wake, as well as CB Brandon Richardson. Getting any or all of them back for Saturday would be a significant boost, but the Irish still ought to be able to dominate both on the ground and through the air.
Their kicking game is more than fine, but their greatest difficulty will be getting into a scoring position in the first place. Their only hope may be ND looking ahead to their visit to Provo the following week.
Game Prediction
NOTRE DAME 52-3 STANFORD
The defense should be suitably focused after sleepwalking through some drives a week ago, and the Cardinal may struggle to reach 200 yards. CJ Carr will do his damage in the first two quarters, and this may well be a game where not only Ryan Grubbs but also Teddy Gerrard see snaps behind Center.
Where to Watch
Sky Sports NFL (Channel 412); coverage starts at 8.30pm IST/BST
NBC (in the USA)
Playoff Picture
Last week saw most of the top-ranked teams win, with the notable exception of the Florida Gators, who continued this season’s SEC tradition of a team with an emotional big home win one week promptly losing on the road the next.
This week we have the Red River Rivalry at the Texas State Fair, albeit with an underwhelming Oklahoma team, and a fascinating tussle on the west coast where #21 UCLA head up to #13 Oregon.
But once the early and mid-afternoon slates are completed, most eyes will turn to Tuscaloosa where, weather permitting, #2 Georgia and #6 Alabama will contest a 2025 SEC Championship rematch. Playoff participation itself may not be at stake, but the inside track to the SEC Championship Game and perhaps a bye as a top four seed will surely be up for grabs.
STIOFÁN MAC FHILIB
COLLEGE FOOTBALL ANALYST
A VERY LONG-DISTANCE SUBWAY ALUMNUS OF NOTRE DAME, COUNTY ANTRIM-BASED STIOFÁN HAS BEEN A FAN OF THE FIGHTING IRISH SINCE 2000. FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @SMACFHILIB.
