Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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STANFORD RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE For the first time in seven years, Stanford was held to less than 50 rushing yards (47) in a game. The run- ning back trio of Barry Sanders Jr., Remound Wright and Kelsey Young, which averaged 112.0 rushing yards and 5.9 yards per carry through four games, managed only 61 yards and 3.4 yards per attempt at Notre Dame, with Wright's third-down 11-yard draw that put Stanford ahead 14-10 the lone carry by a back that exceeded eight yards. Quarterback Kevin Hogan perfectly executed a fake pitchout on his 10-yard scoring run in the first quar- ter, but otherwise the Irish run defense remained consistently steadfast. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame STANFORD PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE To limit the explosive Ty Montgomery to four catches for 12 yards was a remarkable team effort, but the corner tandem of sophomore Cole Luke (two interceptions and one pass broken up) and Cody Riggs (six tackles) particularly were outstanding at clamping down the flanks, while sophomore free safety Max Redfield might have had his best game at being in the right spots. The wind and rain didn't make for ideal passing conditions, but holding Hogan to a 50.0-percent completion rate (18 of 36) and 4.4 yards per attempt is still laudable. The main snafu was a 23-yard "jump ball" completion to Devon Cajuste between junior safety Elijah Shumate and senior nickel Matthias Farley on a drive that helped put Stanford ahead 14- 10 late in the game. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. STANFORD RUN DEFENSE While Notre Dame's 129-yard output on the ground was not eye-catching, head coach Brian Kelly must be credited for at least keeping Stanford's ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI Freshman defensive end Andrew Trumbetti's first career sack was part of a strong Irish pass rush that pro- duced four quarterback takedowns and harassed Stanford signal-caller Kevin Hogan into 50-percent passing. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA