Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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20 DECEMBER 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI A 5-0 finish in November, end- ing a five-game losing streak in Stanford Stadium and a third straight 10-win cam- paign to improve to 32-6 the past three years were gratifying results during Notre Dame's 45-24 victory at Stanford. An extra "special" touch in the contest was especially uplifting. The Fighting Irish (10-2) rallied from a 17-7 deficit versus the Cardi- nal (4-8) late in the first half on the strength of a blocked punt by fresh- man defensive end Isaiah Foskey that dramatically altered the game's momentum and resulted in a 31-0 run thereafter for a 38-17 cushion. Another Notre Dame score was set up when senior long snapper John Shannon recovered a fumbled punt. "The thing that stands out is spe- cial teams today," head coach Brian Kelly said. "We needed a big day from our special teams unit, and we got it. It started with the punt block and from there we got some momen- tum and started to settle down a little bit offensively. "[I've] been coaching a long time. I don't remember special teams really impacting a game so significantly in the way it did today." Senior quarterback Ian Book com- pleted 17 of 30 passes for 255 yards with four touchdowns and no inter- ceptions, with senior wide receiver Chase Claypool snatching two of the scores. Meanwhile, after falling behind 17-7, Notre Dame's defense forced seven consecutive Stanford punts, four of them three-and-outs, SPECIAL DAY Kicking game propels Notre Dame to a 45-24 win at Stanford and its third straight 10-win season