On Saturday afternoon, the Fighting Irish host the Stanford Cardinal at Notre Dame Stadium for a classic Legends Trophy rivalry matchup. Stanford Head Coach Troy Taylor and Defensive Coordinator Bobby April III are the brains behind this improved defense from a year ago.
Photo via Notre Dame Athletics
Last year was a train wreck defensively for Stanford during Coach Taylor and Coach April’s first season in Palo Alto. The defense ranked 129th in both yards and points per game allowed.
Thankfully for Cardinal fans, it appears the defense has improved. It may not mean much but this defensive unit has been far more impressive than their offense, a full flip from last season’s debacle.
Stanford (2-3) 2024 Results:
TCU (L, 34-27)
Cal Poly (W, 41-7)
At Syracuse (W, 26-24)
At Clemson (L, 40-14)
Virginia Tech (L, 31-7)
As mentioned before, this defense is led by coordinator Bobby April III. Before joining Taylor’s staff at Stanford, April spent time as a linebacker coach for the Wisconsin Badgers and various NFL teams.
It appears April has turned around this defense. So far this season Stanford ranks among the middle of the pack in total defense, allowing 27.2 points and 358.6 yards per game. Both of these numbers are dramatic improvements from a year ago.
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A positive so far this season has been Stanford’s team discipline, which could be drawn up to good coaching. In the offensive overview, it was mentioned they are among the top 25 in fewest penalties (4.8) and penalty yards (38.2) per game. Another clean game will be crucial to any potential upset on Saturday.
Similar to last season, Stanford has struggled against the pass so far this year. They fail to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks, giving the signal-callers all day to throw and find open targets. This defense has only recorded eight total sacks, good for an average of 1.8 sacks per game which ranks tied-98th among FBS teams. The Cardinal secondary has allowed 270.4 passing yards per game (121st among FBS teams) and opposing quarterbacks average a 150.53 passing efficiency score (115th among FBS teams).
Stanford’s key secondary player is junior cornerback Collin Wright. Last season was Wright’s first season at corner after transitioning from safety. He finished the year with 61 tackles, five passes defended, a sack, and an interception. Wright also recorded six tackles for loss which ranked first among PAC-12 cornerbacks a year ago. He recorded a tackle and pass defended during last year’s meeting with the Irish. This season, Wright has already recorded 23 tackles and a team-leading two interceptions.
Behind Wright, Stanford has received secondary production from cornerbacks Zahran Manley and Aaron Morris and safeties Jay Green, Mitch Leigber, and Scotty Edwards.
Manley, a graduate senior, appears to be on pace for his best season during his time at Stanford. The graduate corner leads the team in passes defended (three), in addition to his 12 total tackles. Notably, Manley did not record any stats last week against Virginia Tech but he did start the game. Another solid cornerback this season has been sophomore Aaron Morris who has 13 tackles and two passes defended in his breakout campaign.
As just mentioned, Stanford receives production from a trio of safeties. Junior transfer Jay Green joined the Cardinal program after two seasons at Washington where he saw limited action. So far this season, Green has recorded 17 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. However, Green missed last week and is expected to miss this week as well. Senior Mitch Leigber will need to step up on Saturday, though he also has had a nice start to this season. He recorded a 71-yard pick-six against Syracuse and has added 23 total tackles on the season. The other safety who will have to step up in Green’s replacement is junior Scotty Edwards who has tallied 32 tackles this season, including 10 during last week’s defeat. He has also added two passes defended this year.
Where Stanford has seen the largest improvement is their rush defense. As a unit, they are allowing just 88.2 rushing yards per game (12th among FBS teams). For comparison, Notre Dame’s defense has allowed 123 rush yards per game this season. Organically, Stanford’s key position group defensively has been their linebacker core, who are coached by linebacker expert and Defensive Coordinator April.
Similar to the safety position group, Stanford has received solid play from three separate inside linebackers: Gaethan Bernadel, Tristan Sinclair, and Jahsian Galvan.
Bernadel is a senior who transferred to Stanford before last season after two years at Florida International. As a sophomore at FIU, Bernadel led his team in tackles with 103, sixth-most among Conference USA defenders. He made an immediate impact on Stanford’s defense last season when he finished the year with 87 tackles and was presented with the team’s Gundelach Award (most outstanding junior). Bernadel’s 11-tackle performance last year against Notre Dame was one of his four ten-plus-tackle games. This season, he has already totaled 32 tackles and two ten-tackle performances.
Stanford’s leading tackler this season has been inside backer Tristan Sinclair. The graduate student has racked up 36 tackles so far, most recently tallying 12 last week against Virginia Tech. Last year’s three-tackle performance versus the Irish was one of the worst statistical games of his season. Expect Sinclair to be more impactful this go-around.
The third inside backer to keep an eye on this week is redshirt sophomore transfer Jahsiah Galvan. The talented transfer comes from Northern Iowa where he led the team in tackles with 77. Something of note is Galvan did not appear in the team’s first three contests for undisclosed reasons. In just two weeks, Galvan has racked up five tackles and a sack.
Stanford also features two solid junior outside linebackers who line up on the edges; David Bailey and Tevarua Tafiti. Both of these edge rushers lead the team in sacks with two each.
Bailey has been somewhat limited this season due to undisclosed physical issues, but he has appeared in each game and should be ready for this Saturday. He enters this week with eight tackles, two sacks, and two forced fumbles (tied-fifth among FBS defenders). Assuming Bailey can maintain good health, he should hear his name called in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Bailey’s counterpart is Tevarua Tafiti out of Hawaii. He has 18 tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble this season. Tafiti is coming off his most impressive performance this year when he racked up eight tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble during last week’s contest. If Bailey is limited again, expect another solid game from Tafiti.
The final player to highlight defensively is tackle Anthony Franklin. The senior has not been very productive this season however he is capable of breaking out. He has recorded five tackles and a sack this season.
Overall, the key matchup to watch will be the top-20 Irish rushing offense versus the top-15 Stanford rush defense. If Notre Dame finds success on the ground early, this game could be over by halftime. Realistically, Riley Leonard will be forced to make some throws and he should be able to find success against this weak Cardinal pass defense.
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