Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/219972
on paper revisited By lou somogyi so much on the pass. The Irish had only 24 run attempts, and this was the sixth straight time it lost when finishing with fewer than 30 carries. ADVANTAGE: Stanford Other than those two returns, this would have been a draw, or maybe even a slight edge to the Irish. ADVANTAGE: Stanford Notre Dame Passing Game Vs. Stanford Pass Defense Stanford finished 8 of 13 (61.5 percent) to Notre Dame's 5 of 12 (41.7 percent), although the Irish defense improved as the game progressed. On its opening series, Notre Dame moved the chains twice, first on third-and-five and then on third-and-10 — but it had only a field goal to show for it. The Irish missed on converting their next five third downs of the first half. Stanford converted a third-and-six on its second touchdown drive, but especially damaging was Wilkerson's 20-yard scoring run on third-and-nine to make it 21-6. The Irish defense couldn't quite get off the field on many occasions, leading to a 10:32 advantage in possession for Stanford. ADVANTAGE: Stanford Notre Dame dropped to 2-3 this year in games where quarterback Tommy Rees finished with a completion percentage of less than 50 percent (16of-34 versus Stanford). More telling is the Irish are 0-4 in games where Rees threw two or more interceptions and 8-0 when he had only one or none. There were a handful of missed communications between quarterback and receivers on pass routes, a lingering issue. Despite a green Notre Dame interior offensive line that was missing the original starting three from this year (guards Christian Lombard and Chris Watt, plus center Nick Martin), the unit did another superb job of pass protection against one of the nation's more ferocious pass-rushing teams. The lone sack appeared to come off a missed block by a running back, and for the most part the tight ends also had to be kept in for maximum protection. Junior wideout DaVaris Daniels (five catches for 79 yards) had his second straight strong performance, but the part-time high school quarterback underthrew an open TJ Jones on a reverse pass attempt, although it did draw a pass interference penalty. The 199 yards passing kept the Irish in the game. ADVANTAGE: Even Special Teams Kickoff return coverage has been an Achilles' heel all year for Notre Dame and, following a good start, hurt it twice again. After the Irish narrowed their deficit to 21-13, Stanford's Montgomery had a 51-yard return to help set up a field goal. When Notre Dame closed to 2420, a 34-yard Montgomery return gave the Cardinal a little breathing room to set up another field goal for the final score. Third-Down Conversions Turnovers Stanford's Hogan tossed two interceptions, but Rees also threw two in the fourth quarter to Cardinal cornerback Wayne Lyons to even out this category. Neither team produced any points off the miscues. ADVANTAGE: Even Summary Stanford controlled the game statistically, outgaining Notre Dame 419-263 yards — including 26164 on the ground — yet the Irish gave themselves a chance right until their final series. The Cardinal scored touchdowns on both of their red-zone chances (inside the opponent's 20-yard line) in the first half, whereas the Irish had to settle for 21- and 27-yard field goals. When Stanford marched 74 yards for a touchdown in the second half to make it 21-6, the game could have easily gotten away from Notre Dame, but it kept it interesting to the end. For the most part, Stanford consistently wins games the way Notre Dame did in 2012. ✦