Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Game Preview: Stanford Top Storylines By Lou Somogyi Nowhere To Run? Over the past three years, Notre Dame has scored 14, 14 and 13 points in regulation time against Stanford, and after 10 games this year the Irish were 68th nationally in scoring (28.2 points per game). During those same three seasons, Notre Dame rushed for 23, 57 and 150 yards versus the Cardinal, respectively, or an average of 76.6 yards per game. The Irish probably need to get into at least the 150-yard neighborhood on the ground to give itself a chance this season. That will be a tall order against a Stanford unit that ranked third nationally against the run (91.1 yards allowed per game) through 10 games. Meanwhile, the Cardinal is not an operation that will dazzle opponents with flash and speed on offense, either. In six conference games from Oct. 5 through Nov. 16, Stanford averaged 23.1 points per game, never tallying more than 31. Senior running back Tyler Gaffney, who missed the 2012 season while playing minor league baseball, is a meat-and-potatoes runner (similar to the graduated workhorse Stepfan Taylor) in an old-school offense that even includes — egads! — a fullback, without even running the triple option. Third-year head coach David Shaw has maintained the elementary precepts of the blue-collar, physical cul- ture instilled during the Jim Harbaugh regime from 2007-10: 1) run the ball and 2) stop the run. If Notre Dame posts another low rushing figure at Stanford, it will need a minimum of a plus-two turnover advantage, and a defensive or special teams score, to have a chance at victory. How Much Is Left In The Tank? One of the reasons we have liked Notre Dame's chances against Stanford was because of the Cardinal's November schedule. The gauntlet began with the showdown against Oregon on a Thursday night (Nov. 7), which was deemed the de facto Pac-12 championship game between the conference's two best programs the past four years. One week after that emotion-laden contest, Stanford had to travel to USC, which was aching to end a four-game losing streak to the Cardinal. Then the week after was "The Big Game," with Bay Area archrival Cal. Although the Bears are going through one of their worst seasons ever, there is still much investment that is made into the contest by both teams. Finally, after all that, there is Notre Dame. It's always popular to say that "every team gives Notre Dame its best shot." But when you play that many crucial or rivalry games consecutively, sometimes diminished returns become