Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2020 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 127 BY PATRICK ENGEL I nstead of spending December doing bowl prep, David Shaw sat out the postseason for the first time in his nine seasons as Stan- ford's head coach and watched 16 of his players march like an army into the alternate dimension known as the transfer portal. It was a first. It drew attention — not the good kind. On the surface, it gave off a sign of unrest and turmoil. Those who only read the headlines were surely struck with terror over the big, bad monster that is the word transfer. The further the exodus is unpacked, though, the less panic-inducing it becomes. Three portal explorers returned to the team. Everyone who left was a graduate transfer. Only three of the 13 defections were sea- son-long starters or starters until injury. The latter wrecked the Cardinal all season, espe- cially on offense. Quarterback K.J. Costello (Mississippi State) was injured midway through the year and replaced by former five-star recruit Davis Mills, the clear 2020 starter. Guard Henry Hattis (Arizona State) was injured as well. Nose tackle Mike Wil- liams (SMU) was a 12-game starter. And according to CardinalSportsReport. com publisher Jacob Rayburn, Stanford needed some attrition to enroll its 20-man signing class. "If you just went by the people who were exhausting their eligibility, it was going to be an incredibly small 2020 class," Rayburn said. "It seems pretty clear Stanford operated for months under the assumption that they were going to lose some guys with eligibility." Stanford enters the season with an inexpe- rienced second team behind its 17 returning starters. It's sort of a double-edged sword. There is pressure on the 2018 and 2019 re- cruiting classes, which ranked 57th and 24th, respectively, to perform. The 2020 haul was No. 23 in Rivals' rankings. As far as returners, the senior Mills, the top four receivers and an offensive line with start- ing experience at all five positions portends a boost on that side of the ball. Moreover, Stan- ford was finally healthy on offense before an abbreviated spring practice. The last two years, it was too banged up to split into two units. "This is Mills' team now," Rayburn said. "This was a stud recruit back in 2017 and an obvious choice to be someone who devel- oped into a first-round pick. This will be an offense-first team." Junior wide receiver Simi Fehoko is set up for a statistical jump after impressing in his 24-catch sample. Leading rusher Cam- eron Scarlett is gone, with sophomore Austin Jones a favorite to replace him. Two defensive starter losses are sizeable: Williams and edge player Casey Toohill, a seventh-round pick. Cornerback Paulson Adebo, a two-time first-team all-conference pick, returned for his senior year. All four secondary starters are back, but will need to prove themselves after Stanford ranked No. 121 nationally in pass defense. "The defense is in a show-me-some-prog- ress situation," Rayburn said. ✦ STANFORD CARDINAL GAME 6 • OCT. 10 • NOTRE DAME STADIUM X-FACTOR: Wide receiver Simi Fehoko led all Power Five pass catchers in yards per reception (23.6) among players with at least 20 grabs, and had five catches of at least 40 yards. PHOTO COURTESY STANFORD ATHLETICS 2020 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2019 Result Sept. 5 William & Mary — Sept. 12 at Arizona W, 41-31 Sept. 19 USC L, 45-20 Sept. 26 at UCLA L, 34-16 Oct. 10 at Notre Dame L, 45-24 Oct. 17 Washington State L, 49-22 Oct. 24 at Oregon L, 21-6 Oct. 30 Oregon State W, 31-28 Nov. 7 at Washington W, 23-13 Nov. 14 Colorado L, 16-13 Nov. 21 at California L, 24-20 Nov. 28 BYU — QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Notre Dame leads 21-13 Last Meeting: Notre Dame 45, Stanford 24 (Nov. 30, 2019 in Palo Alto, Calif.) Head Coach: David Shaw, 86-34 at Stanford and overall (10th year) 2019 Record: 4-8, 3-6 Pac-12 North (T-5th) Returning Starters: 16 (9 offense, 7 defense) Prediction: Notre Dame 35, Stanford 24 RETURNING LEADERS Rushing: RB Austin Jones (227, 1 TD) Passing: QB Davis Mills (1,960, 11 TD) Receiving: WR Michael Wilson (672, 5 TD) Tackles: LB Curtis Robinson (64, 3.0 TFL) Sacks: DE Thomas Booker (4.0, 8.5 TFL) Passes Broken Up: CB Paulson Adebo (10, 4 INT) Reasons For Optimism • Passing offensive potential • Offensive line continuity • Finally healthy Davis Mills is the highest-ranked quarterback Stanford has signed under David Shaw. Now with a healthy and experienced offensive line plus a skilled group of receivers, Stanford is in position to have an explosive and more balanced offense. Senior left tackle Walker Little is considered a possible first-round pick. He missed all but one game in 2019. Reasons For Concern • Inexperience behind starters • Re-establishing running game • Defensive declines A powerful rushing attack has been a hallmark of its best teams, but it ranked in the bottom 10 nationally in 2018 and 2019, due in part to widespread injury issues all over the offense. Stanford's defense should be better, but it has a long way to go to reach its prior heights from the 2010s.