Notre Dame football had its way with Stanford in a 58-7 victory, and the Fighting Irish run game led the charge. Head coach Marcus Freeman’s offense ran the ball 47 times for 361 yards and five touchdowns.

When a team wins by 51 points, there isn’t much to criticize. Most of what is left falls into the nitpick category.

Still, one issue with the Notre Dame rushing attack is worth addressing. With BYU next weekend, Miami in a few weeks, and a talented SMU team on the schedule, the margins are about to shrink. A deep playoff run would bring even tighter games.

A dominant night on the ground

The production speaks for itself.

Jonaz Walton carried the ball 13 times for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Nolan James Jr. added 73 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Aneyas Williams was quieter as a ball carrier with 28 yards on seven attempts, but he also hauled in a 70-yard touchdown catch on a slot fade.

The Notre Dame offensive line deserves a lot of credit, too. It was the unit’s most dominant performance of the season by a landslide.

The early-game rotation needs to change

My one quarrel is how the Irish deployed their running backs early. In my winners and losers article for this game, I listed eight winners and two losers. The losers were mostly in jest, but one of them was the early-game running back rotation.

I understand why Notre Dame is handling it this way. Walton is a true freshman, and there will be some deficiencies in the nuance of his game. He hasn’t played the position as long as Williams or James, so knowing when to cut back and when to stay patient on the frontside won’t be as clean yet. Williams is also a strong pass protector, which makes him a natural fit on third down.

I’m not worried about Walton in pass protection long term. At 5-9, 214 pounds, he is physical and strong in the weight room. As long as his technique keeps developing, he has every tool to handle that job well.

The problem is what happened at the start of this game. Notre Dame got a short field after a Boubacar Traore sack and forced fumble, but the offense was tight on those first couple of drives. CJ Carr missed a couple of throws, and the run game was producing only about 3.5 to 4 yards per carry. The Irish weren’t finding an offensive identity.

Then Walton broke a 97-yard touchdown run, and everything loosened up. Notre Dame ran the ball far more consistently after that. Stanford’s defense was on its heels because it didn’t have an answer for a back with that size and speed.

Why Jonas Walton should be the starter

If you ask me, Walton is the best runner on this roster. He isn’t only a finisher. He is a tone setter.

His explosiveness makes everyone else better. James thrives once a defense has been pounded, because that is when he can manipulate space and hit quick creases with good feet and quick acceleration. Williams is a downhill, physical back who also catches the ball well. Those skill sets marry together nicely, but both players function best in specific roles.

Walton finished with the most volume in this game, so it worked out. However, Notre Dame had run the ball 12 times before Walton even got his first opportunity. That can’t happen in a 27-24 or 20-17 type of game, where a slow start can really hurt you.

This is speculation, and it doesn’t matter when you win 58-7. Imagine, though, if Walton rips off a long run on the first drive. The defense starts thinking and drops back on its heels. Then James and Williams lean on it until it taps out because it can’t handle all of the change-ups the Irish can throw at it.

There is a very real case that this offense becomes far more dangerous with that approach. Notre Dame’s run game was excellent against Stanford, and I’m not upset about it. Walton should still be the starting running back and a much bigger part of the offense early in games. We will see if the Irish make that adjustment against BYU.