Cardinal can’t down punt, Irish capitalize

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Stanford had trouble downing a Jake Bailey punt late in the first half Saturday night against Notre Dame, and it cost the Cardinal.

With the ball on the Notre Dame 45, Bailey pooched a punt that bounced inside the 5. Michael Wilson had a crack at downing it short of the goal line, then both Trent Irwin and Ryan Beecher tried unsuccessfully to corral the elusive pigskin. Instead, it bounced into the end zone.

Rather than start at its 1- or 2-yard line, Notre Dame started at its 20. Quarterback Ian Book quickly drove the Irish down the field and threw a 10-yard scoring pass to Chase Claypool with 39 seconds left in the half. The play put them up 21-14 at the break.

More K.J.-to-JJ magic: With his eighth touchdown catch of the season from K.J. Costello, JJ Arcega-Whiteside continued his scoring spree.

Arcega-Whiteside has had at least one TD catch in six of the past eight games.

With 22 career TD catches, Arcega-Whiteside ranks fourth in school history.

Love’s long TD: Of Stanford running back Bryce Love’s 29 career touchdowns, 18 have come from 40 yards out or more, including two receptions. His 39-yard scoring run against Notre Dame tied him with Troy Walters (1996-99) for 10th all-time in school history. Missing pieces: Outside linebacker Casey Toohill (arm) and safety Ben Edwards (undisclosed) again were out of action for Stanford. … Guard Foster Sarell, outside linebacker Curtis Robinson and wide receiver Connor Wedington remained out with undisclosed injuries. … Notre Dame’s second leading rusher, Jafar Armstrong, missed the game with a left knee infection. Big boot: Bailey, pinned in his own end, unloaded a 64-yard punt in the second quarter. A nice return by Chris Finke was negated by a block-in-the-back penalty on TaRiq Bracy, pushing the Irish back to their 15. Briefly: Dating to last season, eight of Stanford’s past 11 opponents were ranked in the Top 25 when the game was played. … With a 45-yard reception in the second quarter, Osiris St. Brown has a catch of at least 40 yards in three straight games. … Stanford sophomore linebacker Gabe Reid had the first sack of his college career. … Tight end Colby Parkinson’s 31-yard catch in the second quarter was the longest of his career. … The Cardinal staged a fine stop on Notre Dame’s first series. Linebacker Bobby Okereke knifed through to stop Tony Jones Jr. on a 4th-and-1 play near midfield.

Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.