Notre Dame–Stanford football rivalry
The Notre Dame–Stanford football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team of the University of Notre Dame and Stanford Cardinal football team of Stanford University. As of 2025, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Stanford Cardinal have met 39 times, beginning in 1925. The Notre Dame–Stanford game has been played annually since 1997, with the teams meeting at Notre Dame Stadium earlier in the season in even-numbered years, and at Stanford Stadium on the weekend following Thanksgiving in odd-numbered years since 1999. The game typically alternates positions in Notre Dame's schedule with its other former Pac-12 opponent, USC.
Trophy
The winner of the game gains the Legends Trophy, a Dublin Irish crystal bowl resting on a California redwood base. The trophy was presented for the first time in 1989 by the Notre Dame Club of the San Francisco Bay Area.Series history
The series began on January 1, 1925 when Notre Dame's Four Horsemen and head coach Knute Rockne faced Stanford's Ernie Nevers and head coach Pop Warner at the 1925 Rose Bowl for the national championship. 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 and then 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. The series is renewed through at least the 2025 season.