Things To Learn: Stanford gives Notre Dame its first chance to test freshman QB Steve Angeli

At some point, Notre Dame needs to find some peace of mind should junior quarterback Drew Pyne suffer any injury. If Pyne’s helmet gets knocked off, if he sprains an ankle, if he joins the ever-lengthening list of quarterbacks with shoulder injuries across the country, the Irish (3-2) need to know freshman Steve Angeli could step in for a moment, a week, the season.

Ever since sophomore Tyler Buchner sprained his shoulder on Sept. 10 against Marshall, ending his season, Angeli has been one play away from one of the most prominent roles in sports, Notre Dame’s starting quarterback.

Favored by three scores against Stanford (7:30 ET; NBC), the same Cardinal that has lost 11 straight games against FBS opponents by an average of more than 18 points, in the familiar confines of Notre Dame Stadium, Saturday may be the moment the Irish first get Angeli some competitive snaps.

Of course, they should be only so competitive. Playing Angeli voluntarily would come only in a blowout.

There is a track record to follow. Back in 2015, when Malik Zaire broke his ankle in the second week of the season, then-freshman Brandon Wimbush was suddenly in Angeli’s current position. So the Irish moved up Wimbush’s timeline, developed him to an extent he could handle the workload if need be, and got him into the game at the first chance they could.

Leading Massachusetts 48-20 halfway through the third quarter two weeks later, Wimbush stepped in for DeShone Kizer. Wimbush finished with 92 rushing yards on four carries along with 17 yards on 3-of-5 passing, hardly anything paradigm-changing, but enough that Notre Dame’s coaching staff trusted he could play in a pinch.

That was the first chance for Wimbush. 

Back then, doing so cost him a season of