Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Nunes completed a pair of crucial third-down conversions to tight ends Zach Ertz and Drew Terrell. Then senior running back Stepfan Taylor took over, carrying on eight of the next nine plays, including an- other big third-down pick up where he shed a pair of Notre Dame tacklers to get a fresh set of downs inside the red zone. Junior Jordan Wil- he was forced out of bounds. Stanford held the Irish to their third straight three-and-out, but sophomore Kyle Brindza was close enough for a 29-yard field goal. Stanford answered in liamson finished the drive with his second field goal of the game to put Stanford up 13- 10. He also kicked a 48-yarder off the slick turf as time expired in the first half. Wi l l iamson's kick was the best offensive moment for either team in the first two quar- ters. Both relied on their staunch defenses to cre- ate points at the start of the game. Notre Dame struck the second quarter by driving the Irish back- ward until forcing a fumble in the end zone. The Cardinal's consis- tent pressure finally got to Golson on a third- down pass attempt. Senior defensive end Ben Gardner popped the ball loose with a hit from behind, and fifth- year senior linebacker Chase Thomas fel l on the loose ball for a touchdown. The miscues con- first, cashing in on its second intercep- tion of the half with a field goal. Sophomore safety Matthias Farley reeled in an overthrown Nunes pass near mid- field and ran it back to the 16-yard line before tinued for Golson and the Irish after halftime. Despi te outgaining the Cardinal 114-19 in the third quarter, they didn't do anything to close the seven-point gap. The biggest gaffe was Golson's third fumble at the end of a 20-yard scramble. Gol- son attempted to extend his run along the side- line, but lost the ball af- ter absorbing a big hit from Stanford corner- back Alex Carter. The turnover ended what looked to be the most promising drive of the game for the Irish to that point. A Notre Dame that would have folded un- der the same circum- stances in the past built on that third quarter in- stead. They wore down the Stanford front seven enough to find the creases they needed for a pair of scoring drives in the second half. "We are a team that just keeps coming after you," Kelly said. The Irish defense con- tinued to come until the very last snap of the game. Their dramatic goal-line stand contin- ued a remarkable four- game stretch in which they have not allowed a touchdown. At 6-0, Notre Dame can follow a clearly marked path to its first BCS berth since 2006. The reality of a perfect first half of the sea- son, and the fantasy of where the second half could take them, had the team bouncing around the locker room afterwards. "The sky is the limit," senior captain Zach Martin said. ✦