Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/904117
38 NOV. 27, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI STAYING CONSISTENTLY STRONG Remember when Jim Harbaugh departed for the NFL after the 12‑1 record at Stanford in 2010, and pop‑ ular projections had the Cardinal "returning to the mean" as a .500 operation that would be relatively irrelevant in the college football landscape? Instead, former Harbaugh assistant and Stanford alumnus David Shaw has further established his alma ma‑ ter as a "program" this decade in college football. From 2010 to this year's Nov. 18 weekend, the Cardinal was 83‑21 (.798 winning percentage), and 71‑20 (.780) under Shaw. Stanford has aver‑ aged 11 wins per season over the past seven, and only four other teams in college football have posted a min‑ imum of 10 wins in six of the last seven campaigns — Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma. The one missing piece for Stanford from the other four during this time is either an appearance in the na‑ tional title game or in the four‑team College Football Playoff. Especially impressive under Shaw is among active coaches he ranks No. 3 in winning percentage against Associ‑ ated Press top‑25 teams (minimum 10 games played) with a 22‑12 record (.647). The only other active coaches above .600 in such contests are Ohio State's Urban Meyer (37‑15, .712) and Alabama's Nick Saban (75‑38, .664). Despite a midseason tailspin in 2016, some issues at quarterback and in a "rebuilding" mode after finish‑ ing 12‑2 and No. 3 in the final 2015 AP poll (the program's highest finish since 1940), the Cardinal still won a minimum of 10 games for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, finish‑ ing 10‑3 and No. 12 in the final AP rankings. Stanford's identity in the last de‑ cade, first under Harbaugh and then Shaw, has been forged on exceptional physicality on both sides of the ball. Throughout most of its football his‑ tory, the Cardinal was known mainly as a finesse, pass‑happy operation. That has shifted dramatically in the past decade, which has seen a cou‑ ple of Heisman Trophy runners‑up in running backs Toby Gerhart and Christian McCaffrey, plus Stepfan Taylor, Tyler Gaffney and now Bryce Love, who led the nation in rushing with 1,622 yards through Nov. 11. When McCaffrey could not play at Notre Dame last season because of an injury, Love stepped in with 129 rushing yards on 23 carries in the 17‑10 victory. That approach has helped make Stanford a program this decade, not merely another team. LUCKY SEVENS This contest has been earmarked by seven‑point victories since the 38‑31 Irish decision in 2005 that earned them a Fiesta Bowl bid. Since then: • Notre Dame won by seven in 2007 (21‑14) and 2008 (28‑21), before Stanford returned the favor in 2009 (45‑38). • Consecutive seven‑point victo‑ ries followed again in 2012‑13, first with the Irish making a dramatic goal‑line stand in overtime in 2012 to preserve a 20‑13 conquest, and then the Cardinal holding on for a 27‑20 victory the following season. • Last year, Notre Dame appeared to be in control of the contest with a 10‑0 halftime advantage against a Stanford offense that continued to sputter after back‑to‑back 44‑6 and 42‑16 defeats versus Washington and Washington State, respectively. But an interception return for a touchdown to begin the second half and a safety propelled the Cardinal to a 17‑10 triumph to get back on the winning track and finish 10‑3. It would hardly be a surprise if this were the seventh time in the past 11 years that seven points separate the two teams. Although Stanford has won six of the past eight meetings in this se‑ ries, each of the last five games since 2012 were decided by seven or fewer points and remained in doubt right up to the final series of the contest. In addition to the 2012 Irish goal‑ line stand, in 2014 the Irish won GAME PREVIEW: STANFORD Top STorylineS David Shaw owns a 22-12 record versus Associated Press top-25 teams for a .647 winning percentage, which puts him behind only Urban Meyer and Nick Saban among active coaches. PHOTO COURTESY STANFORDPHOTO.COM