Stanford running back Tyler Gaffney gashed Notre Dame’s defense for 82 yards and a touchdown to stake the Cardinal to a 14-6 halftime lead over the Irish in Palo Alto on Saturday night.
The methodical Stanford offense played a nearly flawless first half. The Cardinal were 5 of 6 on third-down conversions. Quarterback Kevin Hogan was 9 of 12 for 111 yards and a touchdown. Stanford committed no penalties. The only blemish was an interception of Hogan by Austin Collinsworth, but the Cardinal defense didn’t let that turn into any points.
Meanwhile, the Irish couldn’t get anything going in the run game, netting 32 yards while averaging just 2.1 yards per carry.
The way Stanford is playing, Notre Dame is going to need some major breaks to get back in this game.