Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/907039
20 DECEMBER 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI A Notre Dame football season with so much promise through the first two months after an 8‑1 start and a No. 3 College Football Playoff ranking ended with yet another November thud follow‑ ing a 38‑20 loss at Stanford. Trailing 20‑17 at the start of the fourth quarter, Stanford (9‑3) scored 21 points in a span of 3:36 to help it record its third straight victory against the Fighting Irish (9‑3) and seventh in the last nine. It also marked the first time in his‑ tory that Notre Dame lost its regular‑ season finale five straight years. Notre Dame junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush finished 11‑of‑28 passing for 249 yards, with 83‑ and 75‑yard catch‑and‑run touchdowns by sophomore wide receiver Kevin Stepherson and junior wideout Equa‑ nimeous St. Brown, respectively, and the signal‑caller added a team‑high 61 rushing yards on 17 carries. However, Wimbush also threw two interceptions, and the Irish lost the turnover battle 3‑0 — with all three miscues occurring during the deci‑ sive fourth quarter. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said the main difference from the 8‑1 start to the 1‑2 finish was not attitude or conditioning, but turnovers. "I love the way the kids play," Kelly said. "Their mindset is good. They played hard today. … The issues that we've had against really good foot‑ ball teams — Miami, Georgia and this Stanford team, a good football team — is turning the football over. SWOON SONG Stanford outscores Notre Dame 21-0 in the fourth quarter en route to 38-20 victory