SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Tanner McKee passed for 288 yards, Casey Filkins scored a touchdown and Joshua Karty kicked three field goals, beating Notre Dame 16-14 on Saturday night.
The Cardinal (2-4), who lost a two-touchdown lead against Oregon State a week earlier, put the game away when Stanford safety Jonathan McGill broke up a pass by Drew Pyne on fourth-and-7 from the Notre Dame 25-yard line with 1:04 left. It was Stanford's first win against an FBS opponent since beating then-No. 3 Oregon 31-24 in overtime on Oct. 2, 2021.
After the game, the Cardinal ran to the end of the field where their fans were and celebrated.
It's the second home loss of the season for the Irish (3-3). The Irish were beaten 26-21 by Marshall in the second game of the season, but had won three straight since.
The Irish offense couldn't get much going against a Stanford defense that entered the game 111th in scoring defense, giving up 32.6 points a game. Notre Dame scored touchdowns on back-to-back possessions in the second half, but fumbled the ball away on their next possession.
Stanford scored its lone touchdown on its first possession, driving 66 yards in eight plays, capped by a 2-yard run by Filkins. Karty then kicked field goals of 45, 43 and 43 yards.
McKee was 26-of-38 passing for 288 yards and the Cardinal had a 385 yards to 311 yards advantage in total offense.
Pyne was 13-of-27 passing for 151 yards for the Irish with a fumble. He threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Tobias Merriweather and Audric Estime had a 10-yard scoring run as Notre Dame overcame a 13-0 deficit to take a 14-13 lead, but couldn't hold on.
It appeared the Irish might have a short field to work with when officials ruled McKee had fumbled, but the call was overturned when replay showed his knee was down. The Cardinal took a 16-14 lead on a 43-yard field goal by Karty with 10:20 left.
The Irish were driving on their next possession, but Estime fumbled at the Stanford 25-yard line on a hit by Kendall Williamson and Jonathan McGill recovered at the 21.
Stanford returns home next Saturday to take on Arizona State for Reunion Homecoming.