Stanford halts Notre Dame win streak in its tracks with Saturday upset

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Sometimes a trip to Las Vegas does not catch up to you until it is over. Notre Dame enjoyed its win in Sin City last week, but that hangover caught up with the Irish on Saturday in a 16-14 loss to Stanford. The win was the Cardinal’s first in its last 12 tries against FBS opponents.

Notre Dame fell behind 10-0 heading into halftime and showed some life in the third quarter, taking a 14-13 lead on a 41-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Tobias Merriweather from junior quarterback Drew Pyne, Merriweather’s first career catch and just his second career target.

Stanford immediately responded with a drive ending in a field goal, a summation of the entire day for the Irish defense, struggling to make tackles in the field but standing up firm deeper into its own territory. By no means did the Cardinal play particularly well. Six drives inside Notre Dame’s 40-yard line boosted Stanford’s total stats — finishing with 387 total yards and an average of 4.8 yards per play before kneeling out the clock — but they resulted in only one touchdown, on the first Cardinal possession.

In that respect, this Irish loss played out in a similar fashion as its first defeat at home this season, the 26-21 upset to Marshall in Marcus Freeman‘s first home game as Notre Dame’s head coach. In both games, an early opposing touchdown established a deficit that the lackluster Irish offense could never quite overcome. The Herd also resorted to field goals, Notre Dame’s defense buying some time, but the offense never found enough firepower to make up for the slow start.

Pyne finished with only 151 yards on 13-of-27 passing, connecting with star junior tight end Michael Mayer just five times for 60 yards on 10 targets. The running