Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 30, 2019 37 developed an identity of hard-hat, blue-collar physicality on both sides of the ball. On offense, it ran the football with tremendous proficiency, with run- ning backs Toby Gerhart (2009), Christian McCaffrey (2015) and Bryce Love (2017) all finishing as runners-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting while rushing for 1,871, 2,019 and 2,118 yards in those re- spective seasons. In between, Tyler Gaffney romped for 1,709 yards in 2013, highlighted by a 189-yard performance on 33 car- ries during a 27-20 victory versus Notre Dame. The combination of emphasizing a physical ground attack and signing strong offensive line hauls to pave the wave for the premier backs was a drastic restructuring of an opera- tion at Stanford that used to be more known for finesse and pass-happy attacks. The second part was an equally physical defense, one that had an edge to it with its toughness and nastiness to complement its sound- ness. In head coach Brian Kelly's first five seasons at Notre Dame (2010-14), the Irish never scored more than 20 points against the Cardinal and aver- aged 15.6 points in regulation time. Notre Dame did tally 36 points in defeat in 2015, but in 2017 and 2018 it produced only 10 and 20 points again in back-to-back losses. Both of those areas have had im- mense backslides in 2018-19 for the Cardinal. During last year 's 9-4 finish, the Cardinal finished 122nd out of 129 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in rushing yardage with a 107.9 aver- age. This season during the 4-6 start it was 123rd with a 108.7 figure, with leading rushing Cameron Scarlett av- eraging a modest 4.4 yards per carry. Defensively, Stanford has been okay, but despite the presence of All- American cornerback Paulson Adebo (injured during the loss at Colorado Nov. 9), through 10 games it was 108th in team pass efficiency defense and has had issues getting off the field on third down, ranking 122nd while yielding first downs 46.9 per- cent of the time. The combination of injuries and less recruiting success have been the main confluence of factors at a pro- gram that has now lost 15 games the past three years. In 2017 and 2018, the Cardinal signed only 14 and 15 players, re- spectively, in their recruiting hauls. There was great quality among the 14 in 2017, including three five-star players in offensive linemen Foster Sarell and Walker Little plus quar- terback Davis Mills, and seven four- star players. But the 2018 group was ranked only 57th with zero five-stars and four four-star figures. BACK-TO-BACK IN CALIFORNIA Notre Dame has met Stanford and USC on an annual basis since 1997, with trips to Stanford in odd-num- bered years and to USC in the even- numbered ones. In that time, the Fighting Irish have never had back-to-back years where it won in the state of California — another streak that can be broken this year. Notre Dame capped its 12-0 regular season in 2018 by defeating a sub-.500 USC team (24-17), and this year Stanford also is under .500. This also could be the first time since 2000-01 that the Irish would win their final regular-season game in consecutive seasons. In 2000, Notre Dame won at USC (38-21), earning head coach Bob Da- vie a five-year contract extension fol- lowing the 9-2 regular season. The next year, the final regular-season outing was at Purdue, rescheduled because of the 9-11 tragedy earlier during that season, and the Irish won 24-18 to finish 5-6. Davie was fired the following day. ✦ GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD Stanford head coach David Shaw's offenses have been built on physical ground attacks, but the program has struggled in that area the last two years. Through 10 contests this season, the Cardinal ranked 123rd nationally with just 108.7 rushing yards per game. PHOTO COURTESY STANFORD ATHLETICS/ISI PHOTOS Predictions Todd Burlage: Notre Dame 27, Stanford 20 Irish head coach Brian Kelly is 0-4 at Stanford Stadium and Notre Dame hasn't won there since 2007. That dubious streak ends this year against a dinged-up Cardinal team. Vince DeDario: Notre Dame 41, Stanford 17 Notre Dame's offense is rolling and Stanford is allowing 429.4 yards per game this season. Look for a more balanced attack from the Irish, but with the same success. The streak of losses dating back to 2007 on The Farm ends in a big way. Andrew Mentock: Notre Dame 31, Stanford 14 This Stanford offense is unable to run the ball against Notre Dame's defense and greatly inhibits the Cardinal's ability to score. Notre Dame takes advantage of a depleted Stanford secondary and is in control for the majority of this game. Mike Singer: Notre Dame 27, Stanford 14 Stanford's 2019 season has been a huge disappointment, but the Cardinal will look to end its regular season on a high note. It won't happen, and a focused and determined Notre Dame unit will be up to the task of a road victory. Lou Somogyi: Notre Dame 28, Stanford 16 The Cardinal could make this a grind, but it does not possess enough explosiveness on offense to post a sixth straight win at home versus the Irish. Starting last year, the pendulum in this series has significantly swung back toward Notre Dame.