Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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32 NOV. 27, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY COREY BODDEN A fter back-to-back losses to Southern California and San Diego State during a 1-2 start, Stanford became somewhat of an afterthought nationally. The Cardinal then reeled off five straight wins over UCLA, Arizona State, Utah, Oregon and Oregon State to enter a tough November slate at 6-2. However, a 24-21 road loss to Washington State Nov. 4, during which the Cardinal accumulated just 198 total yards, took the Pac-12 North race out of Stanford's control. The Cardinal then bounced back the fol- lowing week by taking down then- No. 9 Washington in Palo Alto, Calif. Though the Pac-12 title is still in play for Stanford, its final test will take place Thanksgiving weekend when the Cardinal welcomes No. 8 Notre Dame to Northern California. Stanford has been a thorn in the side of Notre Dame during head coach Brian Kelly's tenure — winning five of the seven matchups, including the last two. The Irish haven't won in Palo Alto since a 21-14 victory in 2007. Notre Dame controlled the first half of last year's contest while tak- ing a 10-0 lead into the break, but Stanford tallied 17 unanswered points in the second half to steal a win in South Bend. The Irish are in a different position this season compared to 2016, how- ever, and will be determined to get over the hump against the Cardinal. Offensively, Notre Dame will see a typical run-dominant Stanford unit much like the previous five cam- paigns. Through 10 games, the Car- dinal was averaging 218.0 yards per game, which ranked 26th nationally. Junior running back Bryce Love is the star of the show, leading the country in rushing with 1,622 yards and 15 touchdowns on 181 carries through 10 games. In the span of two weeks against UCLA and Arizona State, he rushed for a total of 564 yards and four touchdowns on 55 carries (10.3 yards per rush). Love also battled through an ankle injury against Washington Nov. 10 to rush for 166 yards and three touch- downs on 30 carries to secure the upset win. "It doesn't take long to see that Bryce has special speed," said Ja- cob Rayburn, publisher of Cardinal- SportsReport.com on the Rivals net- work. "Olympic-caliber speed, which is what he was on track to do when he was a young teenager as a sprinter. "But what makes Bryce special and has taken him to another level is he has elite vision. He's a much tougher runner than I think even Stanford fans, who watched him the past two seasons, knew about." While the running back position is well established for head coach David Shaw, quarterback has been a roller- coaster ride. The Cardinal went back- and-forth throughout the first half of the season between senior Keller Chryst and sophomore K.J. Costello. Each quarterback played in seven of the first 10 games and combined to average 184.3 passing yards per contest, which ranked 98th nation- ally. Chryst began the season at the throttle, but inconsistencies allowed Costello to continue seeing limited action until the sophomore edged ahead in the competition the week af- ter Stanford and Chryst struggled to a 15-14 win over Oregon State Oct. 26. Costello started against Washing- ton State and Washington, and com- pleted 25 of 47 (53.2 percent) throws for 316 yards with no scores and an interception. All told, Costello con- nected on 59.6 percent of his passes for 808 yards with four touchdowns in his first seven contests. The sophomore will likely get the nod against the Irish and try to build on his solid performance against a talented Washington defense, when he completed 16 of 27 throws (59.3 percent) for 211 yards. "There really isn't a significant dif- ference in terms of the physical skills that Keller and K.J. have," Rayburn explained. "Keller is a bit of a bet- ter runner, especially when he is 100 percent. With K.J., though, he's not lacking confidence for one thing. GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD CALIFORNIA LOVE The Cardinal will try to ride star running back Bryce Love to another home win over the Irish Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME AT STANFORD Game Info Date: Nov. 25, 2017. Site: Stanford Stadium (50,000). Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET. Television: ABC. Radio: This broadcast can be heard live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129) and on Notre Dame's IMG affiliates. Series Facts: This will be the 32nd all-time meeting between the two programs. Notre Dame holds a 19-12 advantage and won the first meeting, 27-10 in the 1925 Rose Bowl for its first consensus national title. The home team is 20-10 (one neutral matchup) in the series. Head Coaches: Stanford — David Shaw (72-20, seventh season); Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (68-33, eighth season). Noting Stanford: The Cardinal have won six of the last eight meetings after Notre Dame reeled off seven consecutive wins from 2002-08 … Stanford is 4-2 in the series when both teams enter ranked in the top 25, while head coach David Shaw is 4-2 against the Irish since taking the post in 2011 … Stanford is eyeing its seventh season of 10 wins or more since 2010 … Through the first 10 weeks of the season, Stanford ranked No. 8 nationally in turnover margin (plus-1.10 per game). Love, a junior, led the nation in rushing yards heading into the third weekend of November with 1,622 yards through Stanford's first 10 contests. PHOTO COURTESY STANFORDPHOTO.COM