Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD and Army, which is not really a strong test either way. "The defense played well enough against USC. The offense squandered that game away with fumbles and penalties and just total screw‑ups. They would never admit this, but they're still kicking themselves over that USC game for sure." Stanford is breaking in four new starters on the offensive line, includ‑ ing junior center Graham Shuler, with whom senior quarterback Kevin Ho‑ gan experienced some issues on the snap, leading to a Cardinal turnover against the Trojans. Like Notre Dame, Stanford is sorting out its running back situation, with three backs registering at least 18 car‑ ries in the first three games. Junior Barry Sanders Jr. (18 carries for 142 yards) and senior Kelsey Young (21 carries for 122 yards) led the Cardinal through three games. "Shaw says he wants to have three or four guys to share the load," Fitzgerald said. "What you give up by doing this, of course, is that your running backs never really get into a rhythm. … They just get better used to what the offensive line is doing, bet‑ ter accustomed to what the defense is doing and they can pick their holes a little bit more confidently and feel bet‑ ter with more carries. "That's what you're going to lose by bringing guys in for a series here and a series there or two series here and two series there, especially when you're trying to feed three or four guys, not Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME VS. STANFORD Game Info Date: Oct. 4, 2014. Site: Notre Dame Stadium (80,795). Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Television: NBC. Radio: This broadcast can be heard live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129). Series Facts: This is the 29th meeting between Notre Dame and Stanford. The Irish lead the all- time series 18-10. Coaches: Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (41-15, fifth season). Stanford — David Shaw (37-8, fourth season). Noting Stanford: The Cardinal has won four of five in the series, including a 37-14 blowout of the Irish at Notre Dame Stadium in 2010 … Notre Dame won the last meeting in South Bend, 20-13 in overtime … In each of the four meetings since Kelly arrived in 2010, both teams have commit- ted at least two turnovers … Notre Dame had won seven straight in the series (2002-08) prior to the recent stretch … Stanford's schedule in- cludes a brutal road slate, with trips to Washing- ton, Notre Dame, Arizona State, Oregon, Cal and UCLA … Through the first three games of the sea- son, Stanford had not allowed an opponent to score 30 points, extending the program's streak to 26 … Stanford is among just three schools (Alabama and Oregon) with 10 or more wins in each season from 2010-13 … Stanford was one of 13 Football Bowl Subdivision football schools and the only Pac-12 football program to earn a Division I Academic Progress Rate Public Recog- nition Award for posting multi-year APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads … The Cardinal has had three or more players selected in the NFL Draft each of the past five years, including a program-best six in 2014.