Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD down group in its first four games, but it has held its own against some talented teams. USC quarterback Matt Barkley completed less than half of his pass at- tempts while being upset by the Cardinal. Redshirt sophomore safety Ed Reynolds has returned three interceptions for 144 yards. Like the Irish, Stanford forces opposing teams to make mistakes in the pass- ing game by creating pressure up front. Advantage: Stanford SPECIAL TEAMS for a touchdown — a 76-yarder against Duke — to his credit this season. He finished September with the fourth-best average (23.3 yards per return) in the country. Notre Dame made mild improvements in the punt return game in its first four games, but freshman Davonte' Neal didn't get loose against any Big Ten opponents last month. Stanford has also done slightly better than the Irish Senior Drew Terrell already has one punt return Date Aug. 31 San Jose State Sept. 8 Duke Oct. 27 Washington State Nov. 3 at Colorado Nov. 10 Oregon State Nov. 17 at Oregon Nov. 24 at UCLA Oct. 13 at Notre Dame (NBC) Oct. 20 at California Arizona (FOX) Sept. 27 at Washington (ESPN) Oct. 6 Sept. 15 USC (FOX) 2012 STANFORD SCHEDULE Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) W, 20-17 W, 50-13 W, 21-14 L, 17-13 W, 54-48 (OT) 3:30 p.m. TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA involved in the offense during the first month of the season. He had only one catch against Michigan State and Michigan. Young receivers like sophomore DaVaris Daniels and freshman Chris Brown provide home run potential, but they didn't get in rhythm with their quarterback in September. Stanford's defensive backfield has not been a shut- in the kick return game in 2012. Montgomery picked up an average of 27.8 yards on his first six returns. Sophomore Kyle Brindza hasn't allowed opponents to do much with their kickoffs this season. He deliv- ered 10 touchbacks in his first 23 attempts. Brindza also took over field goal duties during the second week of the season and made six in a row after miss- ing his first career try. Stanford's Jordan Williamson missed four kicks in his first four games, but two of those were from 47 and 51 yards away. Advantage: Stanford COACHING in his first year as Stanford's head coach in 2011, and he delivered. This season Shaw's team has looked inconsistent and vulnerable at times. Kelly and his staff had a rockier mountain to climb David Shaw inherited a just-add-water BCS recipe when they arrived in South Bend. They look like they have turned a corner through the first third of the 2012 season. The Irish are finding ways to win close games, which was a major problem in the past five or six years. Kelly hasn't reached the summit yet, but he's proven enough to hold the edge against Shaw. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES plans to run the table at home this season. The Car- dinal didn't look quite themselves during their only other road game so far this season, in Seattle. The movement to usher in some hostility at Notre Dame Stadium is slowly picking up steam and could help the Irish stay unbeaten on their own turf. Stanford is the biggest obstacle left for the Irish Advantage: Notre Dame PREDICTIONS Lou Somogyi: Notre Dame 20, Stanford 13 Jason Sapp: Notre Dame 17, Stanford 13 Wes Morgan: Notre Dame 24, Stanford 17 Dan Murphy: Stanford 21, Notre Dame 17