Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com DECEMBER 2017 27 passes (14), but Stanford averaged 12.6 yards per completion and eight yards per attempt, and the sophomore was especially productive in the red zone. "Our kids were consistent. They played physical," Kelly said of his defense. "But they also throw the ball well. They made some plays, I think that was really the difference." Stopping the pass game and keeping Love in check proved too daunting of a task for the Irish defense. When it mat- tered most, the Irish defense couldn't keep Stanford out of the end zone. "When we needed to make big plays, we didn't make big plays," Martini said bluntly. "At points in the game when we needed a turnover or something to get momentum our way, we just couldn't do it." MISSED OPPORTUNITIES PROVE COSTLY With the game tied 17-17 late in the third quarter, Notre Dame senior punter Tyler Newsome pinned Stan- ford at its 1-yard line. The Irish defense forced a quick three-and-out and junior punt returner Chris Finke gave the Irish the football at the Stanford 19-yard line with a career-best 41-yard return. T h e I r i s h a p p e a re d t o h a v e achieved the game-changing play it needed to win a tough road contest against a strong football team. On the first play of the offensive se- ries, Notre Dame was flagged for an illegal shift, which was followed by a false start on fifth-year senior left tackle Mike McGlinchey. The offense could not recover from those two mental mis- takes and had to settle for a field goal. Stanford responded with a 70-yard touchdown drive that took just seven plays and 2:31 off the clock. Notre Dame had an opportunity to finally take control of the game, and instead the Cardinal gained momentum and ultimately buried Notre Dame. "I thought it was a key time in the game where we had it down on the 1, great defensive transition," head coach Brian Kelly explained. "We got a great punt return, then two silly mistakes with the procedure penal- ties. Then settle for a field goal. "We've been good all year about taking those possessions and turning them into touchdowns." In order to beat a good opponent on the road, a visiting team simply cannot miss out on those types of op- portunities. "We left some points out there," a frustrated Kelly said. "I didn't feel like it was slipping away in that sense, but I felt like we left some points out there." WIDE RECEIVERS STAND OUT One of the few bright spots for the Notre Dame offense was the play of the wide receiving corps, specifically sophomore Kevin Stepherson and junior Equanimeous St. Brown. St. Brown was a question mark heading into the game after suffering a concussion against Navy Nov. 18. He bounced back, finishing with a team- high five receptions for 111 yards. Stepherson had just three catches, but he had a team-leading and ca- reer-best 112 yards. He also had a 10-yard run. "They played well, both of them," Kelly said of his top wideouts. "Played fast, and that's the way we've got to have them play. They're both guys that can be game changers." They certainly showed that against Stanford. Stepherson kicked off the scoring with an 83-yard touchdown recep- tion in which he broke off his route, out-ran the defense across the field and then sprinted to the end zone after making the catch. STANFORD VS. NOTRE DAME QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Stanford 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 8:34 6:41 8:16 7:39 15:15 15:55 31:10 Third-Down Conversions 0-3 0-2 0-2 2-4 0-5 2-6 2-11 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Average Field Position STAN-29 STAN-38 STAN-20 STAN-48 STAN-32 STAN-36 STAN-34 Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 6:26 8:19 6:44 7:21 14:45 14:05 28:50 Third-Down Conversions 2-4 2-6 1-3 3-6 4-10 4-9 8-19 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-2 0-0 1-2 1-2 Average Field Position ND-18 ND-14 ND-43 ND-30 ND-16 ND-36 ND-26 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards STAN ND (-) 12 10 0-5 29 38 6-9 4 12 10-19 9 10 20-29 5 1 30-39 1 0 40-49 0 0 50 or more 0 2 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Stanford 5 4 1 0 Notre Dame 2 0 1 1 Stanford limited junior running back Josh Adams to just 49 yards on 20 carries. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Stanford • 1-10 ND29 Costello pass complete to Irwin for 29 yards and a touchdown • 2-4 ND30 Costello pass complete to Smith for 26 yards to the ND4 • 1-10 STAN42 Love rush for 31 yards to the ND27 • 1-10 STAN40 Love rush for 14 yards to the ND46, PENALTY ND face mask (LOVE) 15 yards to the ND31 Notre Dame • 3-7 ND17 Wimbush pass complete to Stepherson for 83 yards and a touchdown • 1-10 ND25 Wimbush pass complete to St. Brown for 75 yards and a touchdown