Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/216396
Game Preview: Stanford horse for the Stanford running game this season. Gaffney (235 carries for 1,201 yards and 15 touchdowns) had more than four times as many carries as the team's next-leading ball carrier heading into the game against Cal. In the second half of the season, Gaffney has scored 80 percent of Stanford's touchdowns and picked up nearly half of its yards from scrim- 2013 Notre Dame Schedule Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 31 Temple (NBC) W, 28-6 Sept. 7 at Michigan (ESPN) L, 41-30 Sept. 14 at Purdue (ABC) W, 31-24 Sept. 21 Michigan State (NBC) W, 17-13 Sept. 28 Oklahoma (NBC) L, 35-21 Oct. 5 vs. Arizona State^ (NBC) W, 37-34 Oct. 19 USC (NBC) W, 14-10 Oct. 26 at Air Force (CBSSN) W, 45-10 Nov. 2 Navy (NBC) W, 38-34 Nov. 9 at Pittsburgh (ABC) L, 28-21 Nov. 23 Brigham Young (NBC) W, 23-13 Nov. 30 at Stanford (FOX) 7 p.m. ^ Shamrock Series at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas 2013 stanford Schedule Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 7 San Jose State (Pac-12) W, 34-13 Sept. 14 at Army (CBSSN) W, 34-20 Sept. 21 Arizona State (FOX) W, 42-28 Sept. 28 at Washington State (ESPN) W, 55-17 Oct. 5 Washington (ESPN) W, 31-28 Oct. 12 at Utah (Pac-12) L, 27-21 Oct. 19 UCLA (ABC/ESPN2) W, 24-10 Oct. 26 at Oregon State (ESPN) W, 20-12 Nov. 7 Oregon (ESPN) W, 26-20 Nov. 16 at USC (ABC) L, 20-17 Nov. 23 California (FS1) W, 63-13 Nov. 30 Notre Dame (FOX) 7 p.m. mage. The San Diego native took a year off from football to pursue a professional baseball career last fall. When he returned to the team in February, he gave an offense that was light on playmakers the punch it needed. "His body was already tuned to being a professional athlete," Gemmell said. "And when you combine that frame with the type of offense that Stanford wants to run — which is straight ahead, try and stop us — he was an absolutely perfect fit." A heavy dose of Gaffney has allowed junior quarterback Kevin Hogan to slowly mature during his first full season as the starter. Hogan has averaged only 21.5 pass attempts per game, but he has completed 60.0 percent of his throws for 1,723 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions through 10 games. He can also create plays with his feet. With 259 rushing yards on 57 attempts, he is the Cardinal's second-leading rusher. The veteran Stanford team isn't exactly where it hoped to be when welcoming Notre Dame to Palo Alto for its season finale. A chance at a national championship once again slipped away, and this time a BCS bowl likely went with it. But a win over the Irish would give Stanford its fourth consecutive season with at least 10 wins, a major accomplishment for a program that has been seen as anything but a football factory for most of its history. Despite a few stumbles along the way this season, Shaw's team has continued its slow, grinding march in the right direction. ✦