The Notre Dame–Stanford football rivalry is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

between the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is a college football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana (CDP), Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team plays its home games at the ca ...

team of the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

and

Stanford Cardinal football The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The program was previously in the Pac-12 Conference. The team is known as ...

team of

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. As of 2023, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Stanford Cardinal have met 37 times, beginning in 1925 (though the modern series began in 1988). The Notre Dame–Stanford game has been played annually since 1997, with the teams meeting at

Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame Stadium is an outdoor college football, football stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, the home field of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football, Fighting Irish football team. It was built in 1930 under the guidance of Knute Ro ...

earlier in the season (late September to mid-October) in even-numbered years, and at

Stanford Stadium Stanford Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium located on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, United States. It is the home of the Stanford Cardinal and hosts the university's commencement exercises. Opened in 19 ...

on the weekend following

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

in odd-numbered years since 1999. The game typically alternates positions in Notre Dame's schedule with its other former Pac-12 opponent,

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

Trophy

The winner of the game gains the Legends Trophy, a Dublin Irish

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

bowl resting on a

California redwood ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995: 606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coast ...

base. The trophy was presented for the first time in 1989 by the Notre Dame Club of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

Series history

The series began on January 1, 1925 (the end of the 1924 season) when Notre Dame's Four Horsemen and head coach

Knute Rockne Knute Kenneth Rockne (; March 4, 1888 – March 31, 1931) was an American football player and coach at the University of Notre Dame. Leading Notre Dame for 13 seasons, Rockne accumulated over 100 wins and three national championships. Rockne is ...

faced Stanford's

Ernie Nevers Ernest Alonzo Nevers (June 11, 1902 – May 3, 1976), nicknamed "Big Dog", was an American professional football and baseball player and football coach. Widely regarded as one of the best football players in the first half of the 20th century, ...

and head coach

Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

at the

1925 Rose Bowl The 1925 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game. It was the 11th Rose Bowl Game. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated Stanford University, 27–10. The game featured two legendary coaches, Knute Rockne of Notre Dame, and Pop Warner in his f ...

. Notre Dame's 27–10 victory earned their first-ever national title and the first of four national titles to come via bowl victories. After the two teams' first meeting at the 1925 Rose Bowl, they did not play each other again until 1942. They did not meet again until playing two games in 1963 and 1964. Those four games were the only games before the modern series began. Notre Dame and Stanford have played the modern series annually since 1988 (except in 1995 and 1996). The series is renewed through at least the 2024 season, however the 2020 game was canceled as part of the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

's decision to cancel all non-conference games because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Game results

As of 2024, Notre Dame leads the series 24–14, though the Cardinal lead 8–6 in the last fourteen games (8–7 if Notre Dame's vacated 2012 victory is included). The Fighting Irish hold the longest win-streak in the series, with seven wins from 2002 to 2008. The Cardinal's longest win streak were a pair of 3-win streaks from 2009 to 2011 and from 2015 to 2017. The back-to-back wins in 2009 and 2010 were the school's first consecutive victories in the series. Notre Dame is 13–5 at home (14–5 if Notre Dame's vacated 2012 victory is included) while the series is tied 9–9 at Stanford. Notre Dame won the only game played at a neutral site at the

Game notes

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Notre Dame-Stanford football rivalry College football rivalries in the United States

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...