Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Top Storyline: In 2015, North Carolina State was 7-0 against teams that ei- ther had losing records or were in the Football Championship Subdivi- sion, and 0-6 versus opponents that finished above .500. The Wolfpack allowed only 14.6 points per game in the seven wins against inferior opposition, but per- mitted 39.0 in its six defeats, capped with a 51-28 loss to Mississippi State in the Belk Bowl. Summary: North Carolina State should be 4-0 coming into the Notre Dame contest because it opens with William & Mary, East Carolina, Old Dominion and Wake Forest, with only ECU (5-7 last year) on the road. It has not yet pulled off any signifi- cant upsets during head coach Dave Doeren's first three seasons that re- sulted in 3-9, 8-5 and 7-6 finishes. STANFORD • OCT. 15 QB Situation: The two vying to replace four-year starter Kevin Hogan fin- ished with similar spring games. Se- nior Ryan Burns completed 17 of 23 throws for 153 yards with two touch- downs, while junior Keller Chryst was 16-of-25 passing for 156 yards with two scores. Head coach David Shaw said it was hard to say who earned the upper hand. Top Storyline: Running back Christian McCaffrey set an NCAA record in all-purpose yardage last year (3,864) and might be leaned on more than ever with the loss of Hogan, three linemen, wideout Devon Cajuste and tight end Austin Hooper. Six starters return on defense. Summary: Stanford is in its greatest stretch of football ever, winning three Pac-12 Conference titles the past four seasons, and its No. 3 finish in the AP poll last year was its highest since the No. 2 placement in 1940. With a 66-15 ledger the past six seasons and three major bowl wins, Stanford has developed into a top-five program over that time span. This might be a year for a step back (like the 8-5 mark in 2014), though, because of: 1) the graduation of a high volume of stars and leaders, 2) breaking in a new quarterback, and 3) a schedule that features road trips to Notre Dame, Washington, Oregon, UCLA and Cal. An edge to Notre Dame for two rea- sons: More experience and proven abil- ity at quarterback (Chryst has thrown only nine career passes at Stanford), and the home field, which has pro- duced the winning team each of the last five seasons. MIAMI • OCT. 29 QB Situation: Brad Kaaya headlines an offense that returns 10 starters. Kaaya, who last year completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 3,238 yards, threw only five interceptions and was sacked merely 16 times. He might be the most seasoned QB the Fighting Irish defense will encounter, and he capped the spring by completing 29 of 47 passes for 345 yards with three touchdowns. Top Storyline: Hired as the new head coach last Dec. 4 was 2001-15 Geor- gia boss Mark Richt, who graduated from Miami after serving as a backup quarterback for the program. Richt produced a 145-51 record at Georgia, but after an outstanding 82-22 start