Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com DECEMBER 2017 23 STANFORD RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE The good news for Notre Dame is it limited Stanford to 152 rushing yards, 66 yards below its average. Also, Heisman Trophy candidate Bryce Love was held in check in the first half with 10 carries for 31 yards, and five times he was stopped for lost yardage. The negative in the second half was Love did enough — 10 carries for 94 yards — to set up the play action that was effective against one-on-one cover- age throughout the night. ADVANTAGE: Even STANFORD PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Sophomore quarterback K.J. Costello (14-of-22 passing for 176 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions) seems to be a cross between former Stanford signal-callers Andrew Luck (2009-11) and Kevin Hogan (2012-15), who both gave the Irish plenty of fits while combining for five wins over Notre Dame. His poise in the pocket while under duress numerous times was advanced for a player of his age, and he also was aided by several outstanding catches in traffic by his wideouts and tight ends, two of them coming in the end zone. Finding four different targets on scoring passes is a laudable feat. ADVANTAGE: Stanford NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. STANFORD RUN DEFENSE Not one of Notre Dame's 44 running plays, designed or otherwise, gained more than 14 yards, a remarkable accomplishment by the Cardinal defense. Josh Adams (20 carries for 49 yards) had no gain beyond seven yards while consistently getting stymied. Nose guard Harrison Phillips controlled the middle, not just by recording five solo tackles, three of which were for loss, but by occupying multiple blockers to free up his linebackers. The quarterback draws were the best bets for consistent yardage, and junior Brandon Wimbush had a team-high 61 of Notre Dame's 154-yard rushing out- put. Minus the home run ball in the run game the Irish had been so accustomed to, it was virtually a non-factor. ADVANTAGE: Stanford NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. STANFORD PASS DEFENSE It is unusual to allow 83- and 75-yard touchdown passes as Stanford did to sophomore wide receiver Kevin Stepherson and junior wide receiver Equanime- ous St. Brown, respectively — with about 90 percent of the yardage coming after the catch — yet still win this matchup. Beyond those two completions, Wimbush was 9-of-26 passing (34.6 percent) for 91 yards, a meager 3.5 yards per attempt, which isn't even good for a run- ning game. The first of his two interceptions occurred when outside linebacker Curtis Robinson baited him with a fake zone pressure before dropping into coverage and making the pick. The Irish had just fallen behind 24-20, and that intercep- tion set up a quick 29-yard touchdown drive. To top it off, Stanford sacked the mobile Wimbush six times. ADVANTAGE: Stanford SPECIAL TEAMS Stanford owned the field position advantage in the first half thanks to three 50-yard boots by punter Jake Bailey that pinned Notre Dame at its 14-, 14- and 10-yard line. Plus, an Irish kickoff return was brought out only to their 13-yard line. In the second half, the Irish briefly had the advantage with a season-high 41- yard punt return by junior Chris Finke and junior kicker Justin Yoon converting the second of his two field goal attempts. However, that was negated by the fumbled kickoff return by junior C.J. Sand- ers that set up Stanford's 18-yard touchdown drive that basically salted away the game. ADVANTAGE: Stanford THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS Through three quarters, Stanford was 0 of 7 on third-down conversions (al- though its first score was set up by a pass interference on Shaun Crawford on third-and-six), part of why it trailed 20-17 at the start of the fourth quarter. And its first successful attempt resulted in a 19-yard touchdown on third-and-eight. Stanford still finished only 2 of 11 (18.2 percent), whereas Notre Dame was 8 of 19 (42.1 percent) — highlighted by the 83-yard score to Stepherson on third-and-seven. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame TURNOVERS Neither team committed a turnover through the first three quarters, but then an interception toss by Wimbush followed by a fumbled kickoff by Sanders set up 29- and 18-yard touchdown drives. That was basically the ball game, while the Cardinal built a 3-0 advantage on turnovers. ADVANTAGE: Stanford ANALYSIS The pre-game storyline centered on the explosive ground attacks, especially the big-play capabilities of Stanford's Love and Notre Dame's Adams. Both were neutralized fairly well, so which team fared better in the passing game and on special teams would more likely dictate the outcome. Stanford won on both cards. The passing game with Costello was efficient, productive and relatively error free, while Notre Dame's remained erratic and unreliable, the two big plays notwithstanding. On special teams, the Cardinal had a significant field-position advantage in the first half, and the fumbled kickoff by the Irish after falling behind 31-20 was a back-breaker that set up an 18-yard touchdown drive for Stanford. ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI Outside of 83- and 75-yard scoring passes, junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush struggled for the Irish (just 9 of 26 on all other throws for 91 yards with two interceptions). PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL