Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 27, 2017 37 per attempt ranked second, trailing only Arizona. Junior running back Josh Adams has fueled the ground game, racking up 1,231 yards and nine touchdowns through Nov. 11. Junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush added 663 yards and 13 touch- downs during that same stretch despite missing a game. Getting its ground attack going is vitally important for Notre Dame. During its 8-2 start to the season, the Irish averaged 358.5 yards in its eight wins but just 82.0 yards per game in their two losses. Stanford's run defense ranked 75th nationally in rushing yards allowed per contest (173.4) and 89th in yards allowed per attempt (4.6). Those numbers surprisingly have come against a schedule contain- ing very few top rushing attacks. Five of Stanford's first 10 opponents ranked outside the top 50 in rushing offense, and just three ranked inside the top 40. In its three games against opponents ranked in the top 40, the Cardinal surrendered 249.7 rushing yards per game and 5.4 yards per rush. Despite the overall struggles of the run defense, junior nose tackle Harrison Phillips has been a standout. He has dominated up the middle, racking up a team-leading 73 tackles and 12.5 tackles for loss. Seldom is a nose tackle so productive from a tackles standpoint, and it is even rarer to see one lead a team in tackles. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. STANFORD PASS DEFENSE Notre Dame's passing attack has been an issue for much of the season. The Irish ranked 108th in yards per game (168.5) after 10 outings, and its in-depth numbers weren't any better. Notre Dame ranked 88th in passing yards per com- pletion (11.7), 109th in pass efficiency (114.7 rating) and 117th in yards per attempt (6.1). Wimbush appeared to be progressing while pass- ing for a career-high 280 yards in Notre Dame's 48-37 win over Wake Forest Nov. 4. A week later, though, he struggled mightily in the 41-8 loss at Miami with just 119 yards and a score while getting picked off twice. Stanford, however, has had its own issues defend- ing the pass. The Cardinal ranked 64th in the land in passing yards allowed per game (219.7), 60th in yards per attempt allowed (7.1) and 68th in pass efficiency defense (128.53) during its 7-3 start. Stanford yielded at least 316 yards and three touch- downs through the air in a game three different times during its first 10 contests, while opponents com- pleted 63.5 percent of their passes. In its three losses, the Cardinal defense allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 73.8 percent of their throws. One thing Stanford has been good at all season, though, is turning the ball over in the pass game, picking off 13 passes to rank 15th nationally. The Car- dinal intercepted at least one pass in eight of its first 10 games, and at least two in five games. Advantage: Stanford SPECIAL TEAMS Notre Dame has been an average team in the third phase of the game for much of the season, while Stanford has been one of the nation's best. The Irish ranked between 61st and 107th in the major cover- age and return statistics through its first 10 games. The Cardinal ranked ninth in punt coverage, 12th in kick coverage, 17th in kick returns and 44th in punt returns. Junior return man Cameron Scarlett ranked 26th in the country in kick returns, averaging 25.5 yards per runback despite having a long of just 47 yards. What this shows is that Scarlett is consistently get- ting chunk returns, which makes for a bad matchup against a Notre Dame coverage unit that ranked 97th in kick coverage. Sophomore placekicker Jet Toner was eighth in the country in made field goals (18) and was tied for 20th in field goal percentage (.857). Advantage: Stanford COACHING Brian Kelly has been Notre Dame's most successful head coach since Lou Holtz retired following the 1996 season. Heading into the final two regular-season contests, Kelly had put together a 67-33 record with the Irish and leads active coaches in career wins, compiling a 236-89-2 record. Kelly has been good, but Stanford head coach David Shaw has been tremendous in his tenure with the Cardinal. Shaw led Stanford to at least 10 wins in five of his first six seasons, as well as four Associated Press top-10 finishes. This marks the seventh time Shaw and Kelly have matched up, and Stanford has beaten Notre Dame in four of the first six. Advantage: Stanford INTANGIBLES Notre Dame has more advantages on paper, but there are a number of concerns from an intangibles standpoint. Stanford will go into this game knowing it can beat Notre Dame, having defeated the Irish in the last two matchups and in six of the last eight contests. The Cardinal has won seven straight home games and has beaten Notre Dame in the last four matchups in Stanford Stadium, with the last Irish win there com- ing all the way back in 2007. Notre Dame is 3-1 on the road in 2016, but it is just 6-11 in its last 17 true road games dating back to November 2013. Advantage: Stanford GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 19 JJ Arcega-Whiteside 6-3 222 Jr. 8 Donald Stewart 6-4 190 So. TE 82 Kaden Smith 6-5 250 So. or 80 Scooter Harrington 6-5 247 So. LT 74 Devery Hamilton 6-7 301 So. 64 David Bright 6-5 299 5th-Sr. LG 64 David Bright 6-5 299 5th-Sr. 71 Brandon Fanaika 6-3 315 Sr. C 73 Jesse Burkett 6-4 304 Sr. 65 Brian Chaffin 6-2 288 Jr. RG 63 Nate Herbig 6-4 339 So. 54 Nick Wilson 6-3 285 Jr. RT 75 A.T. Hall 6-5 297 Sr. 79 Foster Sarell 6-7 309 Fr. WR 2 Trenton Irwin 6-2 205 Jr. 4 Jay Tyler 5-8 167 Jr. QB 3 K.J. Costello 6-5 217 So. 10 Keller Chryst 6-5 234 Sr. RB 20 Bryce Love 5-10 196 Jr. 22 Cameron Scarlett 6-1 213 Jr. or 28 Dorian Maddox 5-10 199 So. or 23 Trevor Speights 5-11 204 So. FB 35 Daniel Marx 6-2 255 Sr. 6 Reagan Williams 6-3 229 Jr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DE 80 Eric Cotton 6-6 262 5th-Sr. 51 Jovan Swann 6-2 263 So. DT 66 Harrison Phillips 6-4 295 Sr. 57 Michael Williams 6-2 280 So. DE 97 Dylan Jackson 6-6 266 Jr. 91 Thomas Schaffer 6-7 272 So. OLB 34 Peter Kalambayi 6-3 247 5th-Sr. 21 Curtis Robinson 6-3 232 So. ILB 20 Bobby Okereke 6-3 234 Sr. 44 Kevin Palma 6-2 248 5th-Sr. ILB 15 Jordan Perez 6-2 221 Sr. 31 Mustafa Branch 5-11 218 Jr. OLB 32 Joey Alfieri 6-3 241 Sr. 33 Mike Tyler 6-5 236 5th-Sr. CB 4 Alameen Murphy 5-11 192 Sr. 3 Malik Antoine 5-11 189 So. S 8 Justin Reid 6-1 204 Jr. 9 Ben Edwards 6-0 199 Jr. S 5 Frank Buncom 6-2 200 Jr. 2 Brandon Simmons 6-0 199 Sr. CB 24 Quenton Meeks 6-2 197 Jr. 3 Malik Antoine 5-11 189 So. STANFORD DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. PK 26 Jet Toner 6-3 200 So. 37 Collin Riccitelli 6-0 191 So. P 14 Jake Bailey 6-2 193 Jr. 27 Charlie Beall 6-2 212 Jr. LS 69 Richard McNitzky 6-1 216 So. 68 C.J. Keller 6-3 214 Sr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. SS 68 C.J. Keller 6-3 214 Sr. 69 Richard McNitzky 6-1 216 So. HLD 14 Jake Bailey 6-2 193 Jr. KR 22 Cameron Scarlett 6-1 213 Jr. or 5 Connor Wedington 6-0 190 Fr. PR 4 Jay Tyler 5-8 167 Jr. 2 Trenton Irwin 6-2 205 Jr. Special Teams