Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Rivalries - Stanford

Stanford

Main article: Notre Dame–Stanford football rivalry

The Fighting Irish have a rivalry with the Stanford Cardinal for the Legends Trophy, a combination of Fighting Irish crystal with California redwood. The two teams first met in the 1925 Rose Bowl, then played each other in 1942 and again in 1963–64. The modern series began in 1988 when Notre Dame sought out a school to play out west over Thanksgiving weekend during the years that USC plays in South Bend. The series has been played annually except in 1995–96. The rivalry has become more competitive in recent years, during the coaching tenure of Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh. Notre Dame and Stanford are regularly ranked in the US News and World Report top 20 best colleges in America, and both share a mission to develop student athletes that can compete in the classroom and on the football field. As a result, both schools often compete for similar types of athletes in recruiting. Notre Dame leads the series 17–8. When the game is played in Palo Alto, it is usually the last game on Stanford's schedule (as has been the case since 1999), one week after the Cardinal plays archrival Cal in The Big Game.