Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1481361
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 15, 2022 35 GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD 1. A New Offensive Identity Stanford head coach David Shaw and offensive coordinator Tavita Pritchard had to make some tweaks to the offense after finishing 101st nationally in yards per play — a second-straight 12-game season when it ranked in the bottom-50 nationally. Their solution was to adopt the same scheme Wake Forest used to turn itself into a potent offense and the fuel for its 10-win season in 2021. That scheme is the slow mesh. It's a style of run/pass option where the quarterback and running back stand side-by-side and read the defense to- gether before the former decides what to do. Sometimes that's an instant decision. Other times the handoff or drop-back comes after a second or two. The scheme hasn't turned around the program's overall trajectory, but it has resuscitated a broken rushing operation that cracked the 100-yard mark just four times last season and hasn't had a running back finish a season with more than 850 yards since 2018. Stanford topped 100 rushing yards in three of its first four games, which included a 221-yard effort in a 41-28 loss to USC Sept. 10. That was the Car- dinal's best ground output since a November 2018 game vs. Oregon State. Remove 5 sacks, and the rushing total vs. USC jumps to 256 yards on 40 car- ries (6.4 yards per rush). Stanford rushed for 143 yards on 31 non-sack carries in a 45-27 loss to Oregon Oct. 1. The run game took a hit when junior running back E.J. Smith, the son of NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith, suffered a season-ending injury two games into the season. Junior Casey Filkins has replaced him as the starter. 2. NFL Prospect Quarterback Junior Tanner McKee began his second season as a starter with 2023 NFL Draft buzz about a potential early pick. He was the No. 9 quarterback on ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.'s late September position rankings. "McKee isn't without flaws, but I was impressed by his ability to find his balance as a passer to show off his NFL-level arm and mind," The Athletic draft analyst Dane Brugler wrote. "He is a fantastic rhythm passer with the ball placement and vision to work through progressions, horizontally and vertically." Last season, McKee completed 65.4 percent of his passes and averaged 7.4 yards per attempt, with 15 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He missed two games due to injury. He returned to play Notre Dame in the regular-season finale, though, and averaged just 8.6 yards per completion. Through four games this season, he had completed 64.5 percent of his throws for 980 yards with 8 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. 3. Defensive Woes Persist Stanford did not make any staff changes after its 3-9 season last year. Defensive coordinator Lance Anderson returned after a third straight season with a sub-100 finish in yards per play allowed. Anderson's unit looks like more of the same, though. The Cardinal allowed their first three FBS opponents to score at least 40 points. They're giving up 6.55 yards per play, which ranked 124th nationally through four games. The secondary struggles also have persisted. Stanford entered its Oct. 8 game against Oregon State ranked 90th in pass efficiency defense, 80th in yards per attempt and 103rd in passes defended per game. Stanford has allowed six offensive plays of at least 40 yards (tied for 89th) and three plays of at least 60 yards (tied for 116th). It was one of 17 FBS teams to allow multiple 70-yard plays entering Week 6. — Patrick Engel downs with 4 interceptions in four games, but Stanford still does not have enough offensive firepower to overcome such a poor defense — especially with the loss of E.J. Smith to a season-ending injury. Smith ran 30 times for 206 yards and 3 touchdowns in just two games. The running game is now a one-man show with Casey Filkins rushing 61 times for 277 yards and 2 touchdowns through four games. Outside of Smith, nobody else on the roster had more than 50 rushing yards. Fifth-year senior wide receiver Mi- chael Wilson is finally healthy and leading the team with 15 catches for 302 yards and 4 touchdowns. But through four games, only two other players had at least 10 catches and one of them was a tight end. Sound familiar? Cough, cough — Notre Dame. And Notre Dame isn't exactly the poster child of power- house passing games. Stanford is just in a rut. Plain and simply. The Cardinal is headed down another dark path in 2022, and there does not appear to be a quick fix in sight. It seems like Stanford fell into a hole overnight. But sometimes it's just as hard to dig out of it as it was easily slipped into. That's the Stanford situation. Not a good one. ✦ Junior quarterback Tanner McKee, who began the season as a likely NFL Draft pick, has thrown for 980 yards with 8 touchdowns and 4 intercep- tions during Stanford's 1-3 start. PHOTO COURTESY STANFORDPHOTO.COM Three Things To Know About Stanford