Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/605097
GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD yards, including 64 rushing, the Irish lost 27-20 in 2013. • Last year, the Irish survived with a 17-14 victory when quarterback Ever- ett Golson found tight end Ben Koyack in the end zone on fourth-and-11 from the Stanford 23 with only 1:01 left in the contest. Overall under Kelly, Notre Dame has averaged only 17.0 points and 88.8 yards rushing in five meetings with Stanford. It will need to do much bet- ter against a rebuilding Cardinal de- fense that has been yielding 22.0 points and 134.3 yards rushing through the first 10 games this season. MUCH AT STAKE Stanford's bid for the College Foot- ball Playoff likely ended with the 38-36 loss at home to Oregon Nov. 14, but Notre Dame kept its aspirations alive. Now in his fifth season at Stanford, David Shaw has fashioned a stellar 50-14 ledger (.781 winning percent- age). Both Shaw and Notre Dame's Brian Kelly also rank among the best when it comes to career records versus Associ- ated Press top-25 teams (minimum 10 games). Here are the top 10. Coach (School) ................................ Record (Pct.) 1. Urban Meyer (Ohio State) ............30‑12 (.714) 2. Mark Herlich (Oregon) ......................8‑4 (.667) 3. Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) ................53‑27 (.663) 4. David Shaw (Stanford) ....................17‑9 (.654) 5. Jimbo Fisher (Florida State) ............12‑7 (.632) 6. Nick Saban (Alabama) ...................60‑38 (.612) 7. Brian Kelly (Notre Dame) ..............21‑14 (.600) 8. Jim Mora (UCLA) .............................11‑8 (.579) 9. Les Miles (LSU) ..............................45‑34 (.570) 10. Gary Patterson (TCU) ....................19‑16 (.543) Predictions Bryan Driskell: Notre Dame 34, Stanford 30 Notre Dame is going to have a hard time slowing down Christian McCaffrey and the Stanford offense, but in the end it will be the balance of the Irish offense that carries the day. Andrew Ivins: Stanford 35, Notre Dame 34 It's a coin flip, and Notre Dame has struggled on the road regularly. Combine that with the recent results in Palo Alto, and this one doesn't look favorable for the Irish. Andrew Owens: Notre Dame 38, Stanford 35 Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey should shred the Irish defense and the Cardinal seem like the logical pick, but Notre Dame appears to be on a mission to reach the College Football Playoff. A late score will put the Irish on top. Lou Somogyi: Notre Dame 27, Stanford 23 The Irish have lost three straight in Palo Alto, and the Cardinal should be the favorite in this game. Only a biased perspective leads me to lean toward Notre Dame, which needs to force field goals. Jordan Wells: Notre Dame 32, Stanford 29 This one could easily go either way and has come down to the final series each of the last three sea‑ sons. A handful of Irish explosive plays should put Notre Dame just over the top.