Audric Estime rushed for 238 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 18 Notre Dame to a 56-23 win against host Stanford in the regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday evening.
Estime has 18 rushing touchdowns on the season, breaking the single-season school record.
Sam Hartman passed for 140 yards and two touchdowns for Notre Dame (9-3), which has won four of its past five games.
Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels completed 15 of 25 passes for 152 yards and an interception.
Justin Lamson rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinal (3-9).
Both teams traded leads early on.
Joshua Karty booted his third field goal of the first half, a 56-yarder, to move the Cardinal back ahead 16-14 with 8:57 left before halftime.
Notre Dame followed with its second 10-play, 75-yard drive of the first half. This one was capped by a touchdown run by Estime, a 6-yarder that moved the Fighting Irish in front 21-16 with 3:53 remaining in the half.
Notre Dame then intercepted a pass and marched to the 3-yard line with 22 seconds remaining.
Gi’Bran Payne took a handoff and reached for the goal line, losing the ball as his hand hit the turf. The ball was recovered by Stanford and initially ruled a fumble, but after a reply review it was determined Payne had broken the goal line, resulting in a touchdown and a 28-16 lead at the break.
The second half belonged to the Fighting Irish, who scored touchdowns on their first three drives.
Estime scampered into the end zone on a 5-yard run to make it 35-16, Hartman hit Jordan Faison on a 45-yard strike for a 42-16 lead and Estime scored on a 25-yard run to extend it to 49-16.
Notre Dame’s special teams also contributed, as Javontae Jean-Baptiste returned a blocked field goal 60 yards for a touchdown.
Lamson scored on a 4-yard run with 7:16 left to trim the lead to 56-23.
–Field Level Media
