Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ON PAPER REVISITED STANFORD RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE What makes the prolific Stanford offense hum is a methodical, physical ground attack that allows redshirt junior quarterback Andrew Luck's play-action skills to flourish. On a turf that was badly torn up and slippery, the Cardinal kept it mainly between the tackles, where two-time 1,000-yard rusher Stepfan Tay- lor averaged nearly six yards per pop while compiling 118 yards on the ground, with some effective complements in the backfield sprinkled in. After allowing 132 yards rushing in the first half while Stanford built a 21-0 advantage, the Irish brought their linebackers and safeties closer to the more effective four-man line in the second half and limited the Cardinal to 64 yards rushing and seven points in the second half. AdvAntAge: Stanford STANFORD PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE No team in America is more resourceful at using their multiple array of tight ends to create mismatches than Stanford. Its tight ends are too tall and overwhelming against cornerbacks, and too fast versus the safeties and line- backers — and it helps that this year's top NFL quarterback prospect, Andrew Luck, finds them. One tight end, Coby Fleener, burned the Irish on 28- and 55-yard scores, the first on a nifty outside move that turned around senior corner Robert Blan- ton, and the second on an inside cut that led junior safety Zeke Motta to slip. Another tight end, 6-8 Levin Toilolo, easily won a jump ball for a touchdown against fifth-year senior cornerback Gary Gray, and he also stretched over soph- omore safety Austin Collinsworth for a 16-yard completion on third-and-11 to keep another touchdown alive. In between, Luck (20-of-33 passing for 233 yards with four touchdowns and one interception) found freshman wide receiver Ty Montgomery six times for 77 yards and a score. All of it was made possible by 196 yards rushing to cause just enough freeze on the Irish defense when running play action. AdvAntAge: Stanford NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. STANFORD RUN DEFENSE This rivals the USC games as the worst day this year for an otherwise strong Irish offensive line, both running and in pass protection. Without power run- BY LOU SOMOGYI ner Jonas Gray (torn ACL suffered a week earlier), the Irish had limited inside options, and neither junior running back Cierre Wood nor junior wide receiver/ running back Theo Riddick were able to get much, if any, traction on sweeps or cutbacks on the slippery sod. Notre Dame also severely missed injured center Braxston Cave in the middle, and it was shown in the inability to effectively block a 3-4 alignment. Sopho- more quarterback Andrew Hendrix provided spark with the option and zone read, but 57 total yards rushing seldom win you football games. AdvAntAge: Stanford NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. STANFORD PASS DEFENSE Early crunching hits on Irish sophomore quarterback Tommy Rees appeared to affect his overall technique and fundamentals before he was pulled in favor of the more mobile and stronger-armed Hendrix for the second half. Both were fortunate to throw only one interception apiece, and each completed less than 50 percent of his throws. AdvAntAge: Stanford SPECIAL TEAMS Neither team made enough plays in this area to make a huge impact on the game, but Irish fifth-year senior kicker David Ruffer's miss from the right hash on a 20-yard field-goal attempt in the second quarter with the Irish trailing 7-0 did have a temporary deflating effect. Rees' quick kick from the Stanford 45 in the first half was blocked, enabling the Cardinal to take possession at its 40, but it resulted in no points. AdvAntAge: Stanford THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS Stanford converted five of its seven chances (71.4 percent) in the first half on third down which helped it take a 21-0 lead at the intermission. • On the first touchdown drive, Luck completed a third-and-three pass to Montgomery for 16 yards to the Irish 14. • On the second TD drive, Luck connected with the 6-8 Toilolo for 16 yards on third-and-11 from his 19. The 28-yard touchdown came on third-and-three when tight end Coby Fleener made his quick cut to the outside. • On the play prior to the third touchdown, Luck found Montgomery across the middle for a 14-yard gain on third-and-10. The Irish did well to limit Stanford to 3 of 8 in the second half, but the overall 8 of 15 result (53.3 percent) was far better than Notre Dame's 5 of 15 (33.3 percent). A third-and-four middle screen from Hendrix to sophomore wide receiver TJ Jones on third-and-four when it was still only 21-7 picked up only two yards when Jones slipped, forcing a punt. AdvAntAge: Stanford TURNOVERS If Notre Dame was going to upset Stanford, it couldn't afford to lose the turnover battle and probably needed to be at least plus-two. Instead, the Irish had three turnovers to Stanford's two. The Cardinal scored only a touchdown off the three turnovers, but Notre Dame generated zero points from the two turnovers it forced. AdvAntAge: Stanford ANALYSIS Stanford's football identity used to center on a finesse style with prolific passing attacks, and its modus operandi was to win 45-41 type shootouts. The culture completely changed to a physical, blue-collar mentality under former head coach Jim Harbaugh (2007-10), and new boss David Shaw continued it through his first season. Although the Irish held their own defensively in the second half, Stanford Junior running back Cierre Wood earned his first start in five games follow- ing the season-ending knee injury to senior Jonas Gray, but was limited to 41 yards on 12 carries by a tough Stanford defense. PHOTO BY AARON SUOZZI www.BLUEANDGOLD.com controlled both lines of scrimmage for the most part while dictating the tempo. Once you control the lines, it's a matter of not losing the turnover battle or getting beat on special teams. The Cardinal had the upper hand in those areas as well. The game was basically won in the first half when Stanford built its 21-0 halftime lead. DECEMBER 2011 23