Game Preview: Stanford
David Shaw directed Stanford to its first Rose Bowl victory in more than 40 years last season, and he is
one of four individuals to lead a team to back-to-back BCS bowls in their first two seasons as a college
head coach.
photo courtesy stanford
Each of Notre Dame's final three
regular-season opponents this season
— Pitt, Brigham Young and Stanford
— appeared to have the Irish beaten
last year, only to see the Fighting Irish
stage their game-winning rally in the
fourth quarter, and in the cases of Pitt
and Stanford, in overtime.
Cal might be bad enough this year
where Stanford does not have to be at
its best to still emerge victorious, and
still have enough left over for Notre
Dame.
And what of the Irish? Since the Jan.
7 BCS National Championship Game
loss, the program has suffered major attrition via graduation, academics (Everett Golson) and a plethora
of injuries on defense, most recently
season-ending surgery to its anchor,
Louis Nix III at nose guard.
Notre Dame has become a shell of
the program it was last year at this
time, and with BCS aspirations eliminated earlier this month, how hungry
it will remain, or how much is left in
its emotional reservoir after a letdown
season, might be in question.
