SOUTH BEND – This time, there will be no fourth quarter collapse for Notre Dame against Stanford.

In the place of the latter was an exclamation point, as the No. 8 Fighting Irish escaped with a 38-17 win over Cardinal No. 7 on Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium.

► Read Mike Berardino's Insider column: It's not just that Notre Dame finally beat Stanford – that's how she beat Stanford who impresses the most

Sitting 5-0 for the first time since 2014, Notre Dame managed to avoid a fourth straight loss to the Pac-12 conference. Stanford (4-1) was in the fourth quarter in each of the last three meetings.

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Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly was 2-5 against David Shaw, but the Irish broke their 14-14 draw early in the second quarter and finished the game in a 24-7 sprint. 3.

Since 2009, the Irish have not put as many points on Stanford. Notre Dame has not scored 38 goals or more in a victory over the Cardinal since 2005.

Three reasons why Notre Dame won:

BOOK AT THE LOOK

Dipping Wake Forest in a 56-27 win last week on the road was encouraging, but what did it really mean? Junior quarterback Ian Book, making his home debut, confirmed this performance with an even better performance (24 of 33, 278 yards passing, four touchdowns and no interceptions).

Book was comfortable in the pocket and used his legs to escape the pressure on several buttons. He was at his best in the draw, going 5-for-5 for 74 yards on 84 seconds, 80 yards just before half-time.

Senior Boy Boykin was Book's favorite target, with 11 catches for 144 yards and one touchdown.

More: Cool California has made Ian Book a perfect choice for Notre Dame

KEEP LOVE IN CHECK

Bryce Love, a Heisman Trophy finalist, escaped for a 39-yard touchdown in his sixth postponement of the match, but Notre Dame's strong defensive defense prevented the ghost player from leaving.

Love finished with 73 yards in 17 runs, but 10 of those yards earned 2 yards or less. For an Irish defense that allowed only 3.45 yards per race, it was a validation, especially after Love defeated them 125 and 129 yards in the past two years.

EARTH AND BOOK

Dexter Williams wasted no time in announcing his return from an unconfirmed four-game suspension.

The senior running back has traveled 45 yards for a touchdown on his first touchdown of the season and has accumulated 161 yards in 21 carries. That more than offset the temporary loss of Jafar Armstrong, who missed the match with a left knee infection.

Left-hander Alex Bars suffered a left knee injury in the middle of the third quarter, but starting guard Trevor Ruhland accepted the line leader. Tony Jones Jr. was also beaten in the third, but the Irish still managed to surpass the visitors by nearly 5 to 1 on the field.

No. 8 Notre Dame 38, No. 7 Stanford 17

Stanford 7 7 3 0 – 17
Our Lady 14 7 3 14 – 38

ND – D.Williams 45 run (Yoon kick), 8:13

STA-B.Love 39 run (Toner kick), 4:39

ND – Weishar 6 passage of Book (Yoon kick) ,: 09

STA – Arcega-Whiteside 4 passes Costello (blow of toner), 10:36

ND – Claypool 10 passes from Book (Yoon kick) ,: 39

ND – FG Yoon 37, 8:07

STA – FG Toner 46, 2:16

ND – M.Boykin 8 goes from Book (Yoon kick), 8:16

ND – Mack 35 passes from Book (Yoon kick), 8:02

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Stanford, B.Love 17-73, Speights 1-8, Scarlett 1-2, Little 0-0, Costello 5- (minus 28). Notre Dame, D.Williams 21-161, book 15-47, T. Jones 10-40, Davis 4-14, J.Smith 4-12, Mack 0-0, (team) 1- (minus 2).

PASSAGE – Stanford, Costello 15-27-1-174. Our Lady, book 24-33-0-278.

RECEPTION – Stanford, Irwin 5-57, Arcega-Whiteside 5-30, B. Love 2-7, St. Brown 1-45, Parkinson 1-31, K.Smith 1-4. Notre Dame, M.Boykin 11-144, Claypool 3-23, Finke 2-30, Davis 2-11, Mack 1-35, Kmet 1-19, J.Smith 1-14, Weishar 1-6, D.Williams 1- (minus 1), young 1- (minus 3).

MISSED FIELD OBJECTIVES – Notre Dame, Yoon 50.