Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1187512
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 30, 2019 35 the 2010s, this year has been anything but under ninth-year skipper David Shaw. After starting this season 1-3, Shaw stabilized the program, won three of the next four games and evened the team's record at 4-4. But two consecu- tive losses after that put Stanford's 10-year bowl streak — the longest in program history — in grave doubt, even in an era when sub-.500 teams are sometimes invited. Irish head coach Brian Kelly has overcome most challenges during his 10 years on the job here. But there is a glaring hurdle still waiting to be cleared that this weekend provides. Kelly is 0-4 at Stanford Stadium as the Notre Dame coach, and he's only 3-6 overall against the Cardinal. Advantage: Even INTANGIBLES In the 10 seasons from 2009-18, Stanford had won at least eight games in each of those cam- paigns, and six times in that span the Cardinal claimed at least 10 victories, averaging a highly impressive 10.2 wins a season during that run. Stanford has no chance of reaching either mark this year. In fact, the 2019 season is already des- tined to be the worst for the program since it Junior cornerback Paul Adebo led the Cardinal in both interceptions (four) and passes broken up (10), but an injury suffered at Colorado Nov. 9 might sideline him the rest of the season. PHOTO COURTESY STANFORD ATHLETICS/ISI PHOTOS GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR 5 Connor Wedington 6-0 200 Jr. 9 Osiris St. Brown 6-2 190 Jr. LT 75 Walter Rouse 6-6 291 Fr. 63 Barrett Miller 6-5 292 Fr. LG 63 Barrett Miller 6-5 292 Fr. 60 Drake Nugent 6-2 284 Fr. C 51 Drew Dalman 6-3 284 Jr. 60 Drake Nugent 6-2 284 Fr. RG 73 Jake Hornibrook 6-5 279 Fr. 60 Drake Nugent 6-2 284 Fr. RT 79 Foster Sarell 6-7 308 Jr. 73 Jake Hornibrook 6-5 279 Fr. TE 84 Colby Parkinson 6-7 251 Jr. 80 Scooter Harrington 6-5 257 Sr. WR 4 Michael Wilson 6-2 210 So. 13 Simi Fehoko 6-4 226 So. QB 15 Davis Mills 6-4 214 Jr. 10 Jack West 6-4 212 So. RB 22 Cameron Scarlett 6-1 216 5th-Sr. 20 Austin Jones 5-10 193 Fr. 32 Nathaniel Peat 5-10 190 Fr. FB 34 Houston Heimuli 5-11 249 Jr. 24 Jay Symonds 6-3 240 So. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DE 51 Jovan Swann 6-2 271 Sr. 91 Thomas Schaffer 6-7 285 Sr. DT 57 Michael Williams 6-2 290 Sr. 50 Dalyn Wade-Perry 6-4 321 Jr. DE 34 Thomas Booker 6-4 281 So. 91 Thomas Schaffer 6-7 285 Sr. OLB 52 Casey Toohill 6-4 247 5th-Sr. 47 Tangaloa Kaufusi 6-3 237 So. ILB 2 Curtis Robinson 6-3 236 Sr. 43 Ryan Beecher 6-1 237 5th-Sr. ILB 25 Andrew Pryts 6-1 225 Sr. 36 Tristan Sinclair 6-2 207 Fr. OLB 90 Gabe Reid 6-2 239 Jr. 47 Tangaloa Kaufusi 6-3 237 So. CB 22 Obi Eboh 6-2 195 Sr. or 31 Zahran Manley 6-2 175 Fr. SS 21 Kendall Williamson 6-1 201 So. 4 J.J. Parson 5-10 176 Sr. FS 18 Stuart Head 6-4 210 Jr. 32 Jonathan McGill 5-10 179 Fr. CB 17 Kyu Blu Kelly 6-1 176 Fr. 22 Obi Eboh 6-2 195 Sr. STANFORD DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PK 27 Ryan Sanborn 6-3 205 Fr. KO 27 Ryan Sanborn 6-3 205 Fr. P 27 Ryan Sanborn 6-3 205 Fr. or 33 Alex Gracey 6-3 205 So. H 33 Alex Gracey 6-3 205 So. 11 Harry Schwartz 6-0 201 Sr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LS 69 Richard McNitzky 6-1 218 Sr. 49 Kyle Petrucci 6-6 238 So. KR 5 Connor Wedington 6-0 200 Jr. 20 Austin Jones 5-10 193 Fr. PR 4 Michael Wilson 6-2 210 So. 5 Connor Wedington 6-0 200 Jr. Special Teams went 5-7 in 2008 during former head coach Jim Harbaugh's second year with the program. Notre Dame has lost five straight at Stanford Stadium and hasn't won there since 2007. But in each of the last four meetings in Palo Alto, Calif., the Cardinal was ranked. They are not ranked this season, making this the kind of game Kelly excels in. Heading into last weekend's game against Boston College, Kelly's Irish had won 21 straight against unranked opponents, which may not necessarily sound like a remarkable feat. However, since the beginning of the 2017 season, Notre Dame and Alabama are the only two teams in the country to not have been beaten by an unranked team, which proves it is no easy task. Advantage: Notre Dame