IRISH MAKE POWERFUL STATEMENT
Notre Dame dominates Cardinal on both sides of ball
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Quarterback Ian Book and receiver Miles Boykin, the heroes of Notre Dame’s Citrus Bowl victory last New Year’s Day, worked their magic once again, and a stifling defensive line turned in a big performance to fuel the No. 8 Irish to a 38-17 victory Saturday against No. 7 Stanford.
Book passed for 278 yards and four touchdowns, including an eight-yarder to Boykin, who had career highs in receptions (11) and yardage (144).
‘‘Our chemistry is coming along, but he’s such a good player and I love throwing to him,’’ said Book, who threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Boykin after replacing an ineffective Brandon Wimbush in Notre Dame’s 21-17 victory against LSU in January.
Cardinal coach David Shaw said he was impressed by Book, who hails from Northern California and started for the second consecutive week after replacing Wimbush again.
‘‘[Notre Dame has] a quarterback right now that’s outstanding,’’ Shaw said. ‘‘He’s athletic enough to get himself out of trouble. Quarterbacks like this, if you don’t get them down on the ground, it’s gonna hurt you.’’
Boykin’s touchdown reception gave the Irish a 31-17 lead with 8:16 left. After Notre Dame’s Te’von Coney intercepted Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello, Book threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Alize Mack 14 seconds later to seal the victory.
Book’s other touchdown passes were a six-yarder to Nic Weishar in the first quarter and a 10-yarder to Chase Claypool just before halftime.
‘‘A great win,’’ Irish coach Brian Kelly said. ‘‘I like the fact that we finished the game. That’s when you see a resolve in your team.’’
Notre Dame (5-0) ran up 550 yards of offense, including 272 yards on 55 carries. Dexter Williams, playing in his first game of the season after missing the first four for undisclosed disciplinary reasons, rushed for a career-high 161 yards on 21 carries. His first run of the season went for a 45-yard touchdown that gave the Irish a 7-0 lead.
‘‘I’m really proud of his growth and maturity,’’ Kelly said.
Notre Dame limited the Cardinal (4-1) to 229 yards of offense. Costello threw for only 174 yards and was hurried all night by the Irish’s front four, which got four sacks and two hurries from 6-7, 305-pound defensive tackle Jerry Tillery.
Bryce Love, the Heisman Trophy runnerup last season, scored on a 39-yard touchdown run in the first quarter for Stanford but finished with only 73 yards on 17 carries before limping to the locker room with just more than 11 minutes to play.
Backfield attrition
Notre Dame played without running back Jafar Armstrong (knee infection), then lost running back Tony Jones Jr. (leg) in the third quarter after he gained 40 yards on 10 carries. That left much of the running responsibility to Williams.
‘‘Dexter was very juiced up and brings a lot of emotion to the game,’’ Book said. ‘‘There couldn’t have been a better week for him to come back.’’