Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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40 OCT. 12, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD not where anybody wanted them to be through four games. Heading into Week 5, Notre Dame ranked 108th in the FBS in passing yards per game (173.8). Senior starting quarterback Riley Leon- ard did not hit 165 passing yards in any of those games. His passing efficiency number, also docu- mented above, was one of the worst among all college football signal-callers. But he made strides against Miami (Ohio). Re- member, baby steps. The throws that did not end up in the box score were the ones people on the Notre Dame side were the most encouraged by. Leonard helped draw multiple pass interference calls on the Red- Hawks' defense with accurate downfield passes. He also connected with graduate student wide re- ceiver Beaux Collins on a 38-yard touchdown toss that couldn't have been placed any better. If those types of throws come more consistently, and if Leonard is more consistent with his accuracy on ones that should never be missed, Notre Dame might start generating the type of aerial offense that was envisioned when the quarterback was plucked from Duke out of the transfer portal. "That would be awesome for all of us, would it not?" Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said Sept. 24. "You hope that the natu- ral progression continues to build and that he takes from the confidence-building that there was [against Miami (Ohio)] and continues to push on the gas and cleans up some of the cupcake throws that maybe we missed that we've got to hit." That's probably all possible against a Stanford passing defense that ranked 130th out of 134 FBS teams in yards per game allowed through the air through Week 4 at 298.7. Even FCS Cal Poly eclipsed 200 passing yards against the Cardinal. TCU put up 353, and Syracuse racked up 339. If Leonard can't throw the ball effectively against Stanford, he's not going to do so against anybody this year. But that shouldn't be as much of a worry as some fans on social media and message boards let on. He's got it in him. Leonard threw for 300-plus yards three times in 21 starts at Duke and 200- plus yards a total of nine times. Does that mean he was under 200 in most of his starts? Yes. But does that mean winning football can be played with Leonard as QB1 without him getting to that number? Also yes. The Irish have the edge here. And we're about to tell you why the Irish have an even bigger edge in the next category. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. STANFORD RUN DEFENSE Whether people want to hear it or not, Leonard's legs are weapons of mass destruction. There are so many programs across the country who would love the luxury of relying on them. Through Week 4, Leonard ranked fifth among FBS quarterbacks with 322 rushing yards and sec- ond in quarterback rushing touchdowns with 6. He had a career-high 143 yards plus 2 touchdowns in the Irish's 28-3 win against Miami (Ohio) in Week 4. Who wouldn't take those numbers? Notre Dame fans who want more from the pass- ing offense. The reality is, though, Leonard making magic on the ground with the ball in his hands is the Notre Dame offense's calling card. That is what offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock wants to remain a staple. "If you watch our running game and how it's con- structed, it's built off of a lot of reading the edge," Denbrock said Sept. 24. "The defense is going to dictate a lot more about who gets the ball and who gets the carry than I do." Often, it's Leonard. And that's fine if he's put- ting up big numbers — especially if Notre Dame's talented tailbacks are rattling off big numbers, too, and through four games they were. Sophomore Jeremiyah Love led Notre Dame with 339 yards on 46 carries. Leonard got his 322 on 46 carries as well. Junior Jadarian Price is the third wheel, but this might as well be one of those three-wheel Spyders. He hasn't been a slouch by any means with 193 yards on 26 carries through four games. It all amounted to the No. 18 rushing offense in the country entering Week 5 at 238.3 yards per game. That's substantially better than the 185.7 Notre Dame had last year with one of the best tailbacks in the nation in Audric Estimé leading the charge. Love and Price, both averaging 7.4 yards per carry through four games, could very well be two of the best backs in the nation too. And they've got Leonard to go along with them. Stanford ranked No. 3 in the FBS in rushing yards allowed per game through Week 4 at 51.7, but the Cardinals hadn't seen anything like what Notre Dame does on the ground to that point and prob- ably won't see it all year otherwise. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Stanford senior kicker Emmet Kenney started the season 8 of 8 on field goal attempts with a long of 51. He was 10 of 10 on extra points, too. Can't be any better than perfect. Those were once Mitch Jeter-like numbers, but the Notre Dame kicker who transferred in from South Carolina had two field goal attempts blocked in the Irish's loss to Northern Illinois. Jeter had been perfect other that through four games, though, in going 4 of 6 on field goal attempts and 15 of 15 on extra points. Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR 13 Elic Ayomanor 6-2 210 R-So. 3 Bryce Farrell 5-10 175 5th-Sr. WR 84 Ismael Cisse 6-0 200 R-Fr. 25 Marcus Brown 5-10 170 Fr. LT 58 Kahlil House 6-5 285 Fr. 76 Jack Leyrer 6-5 305 Sr. LG 69 Jake Maikkula 6-5 295 Jr. or 76 Jack Leyrer 6-5 305 Sr. C 57 Levi Rogers 6-4 305 5th-Sr. 69 Jake Maikkula 6-5 295 Jr. RG 55 Simione Pale 6-4 335 So. 72 Austin Uke 6-2 305 Sr. RT 78 Luke Baklenko 6-6 305 So. 71 Connor McLaughlin 6-7 295 5th-Sr. TE 86 Sam Roush 6-5 242 Jr. 88 Benji Blackburn 6-6 245 Fr. QB 14 Ashton Daniels 6-2 215 Jr. 8 Justin Lamson 6-2 210 Jr. RB 26 Sedrick Irvin 5-10 200 So. or 20 Micah Ford 6-0 210 Fr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Edge 23 David Bailey 6-3 250 Jr. or 11 Tevarua Tafiti 6-2 240 Jr. DT 40 Tobin Phillips 6-3 300 5th-Sr. 98 Zach Buckey 6-3 280 Sr. DT 75 B. Marceau-Olayinka 6-3 300 So. 91 Clay Patterson 6-3 285 Gr. DT 94 Anthony Franklin 6-3 285 Sr. 97 Zach Rowell 6-3 290 Jr. Edge 14 Wilfredo Aybar 6-2 255 Sr. 44 Ernest Cooper 6-4 250 Jr. LB 8 Tristan Sinclair 6-1 235 Gr. 35 Matt Rose 6-2 230 Jr. LB 0 Gaethan Bernadel 6-1 230 Sr. 51 Sam Mattingly 6-2 230 Fr. CB 4 Zahran Manley 6-2 190 Gr. 9 Brandon Nicholson 6-0 185 Fr. or 28 Cam Richardson 6-2 185 Fr. S 21 Scotty Edwards 6-0 210 Jr. 18 Jaylen'Dai Sumlin 6-2 200 Fr. S 32 Mitch Leigber 6-1 200 Sr. 5 Jay Green 6-3 215 Jr. CB 6 Collin Wright 6-0 195 Jr. 27 Omari Porter 6-2 200 5th-Sr. STANFORD CARDINAL DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. K 13 Emmet Kenney 6-2 215 Sr. 92 AJ Seidler 6-1 215 Fr. P 37 Aidan Flintoft 6-2 210 So. 15 Connor Weselman 6-3 215 Sr. H 15 Connor Weselman 6-3 216 Sr. 37 Aidan Flintoft 6-2 194 So. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LS 93 Peyton Warford 6-3 220 Jr. 47 Alejandro Chavez 6-2 235 Jr. KR 24 Tiger Bachmeier 6-1 190 So. 3 Bryce Farrell 5-10 175 5th-Sr. PR 24 Tiger Bachmeier 6-1 190 So. 3 Bryce Farrell 5-10 175 5th-Sr. Special Teams