Highlights: Stanford 16, Notre Dame 14 — Best part of Irish Saturday comes from four-star RB before the loss to the Cardinal

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame’s greatest highlight Saturday came long before the Irish (3-3) fell to Stanford, 16-14, in the biggest upset at Notre Dame Stadium since … last month against Marshall.

A few hours earlier, consensus four-star running back Jeremiyah Love (Christian Brothers College High; St. Louis, Mo.) committed to the Irish class of 2023, the kind of long-term development that does not erase Notre Dame’s loss to the Cardinal but does offer a reason for Irish fans to be optimistic about first-year head coach Marcus Freeman’s tenure, nonetheless.

Love chose Notre Dame over Alabama, Texas A&M and his homestate Missouri, not to mention visits to Michigan, Georgia and Oregon. The No. 3 running back in the class, per rivals.com, and the No. 51 prospect overall, he has seen the Irish lean on three running backs this season, making it clear there will be opportunities for him in the future.

“Notre Dame does a good job at rotating their running backs,” he said to Inside ND Sports’ Kyle Kelly. “They said they want to get the ball in my hands. So, I’ll be playing receiver and running back, not just strictly running back. But (wide) receiver, slot (receiver), all that type of stuff too. Special teams.

“All of those things just to give me the ball.”

Love may not have the literal fastest top-end speed, but as a track star, he has timed 100-meter dashes of sub-11 seconds. Part of that success comes from his ability to reach his top-end speed with just a few long strides, that acceleration often turning five- or six-yard runs into long touchdown jaunts.

Love has a habit of using side-to-side cuts to evade tacklers, something that works at the high-school level but may be too much time spent moving horizontally against