Blue and Gold Illustrated

December 2017

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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30 DECEMBER 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED What Worked Matchup Defense Succeeds Early: Stanford was a run- heavy offense all season, and Notre Dame knew to have a chance to contain that ground attack it had to match up when the Cardinal put extra offensive linemen on the field. Irish defensive coordina- tor Mike Elko decided to go with a four-linemen and four- linebacker alignment against the Stanford power formation. The move proved successful, and it was a big reason why standout running back Bryce Love was largely ineffective for the first two quarters. Love, the nation's leader in yards per carry by a running back and runs of 30 or more yards, had just 31 yards on 10 carries in the first half and 65 yards on his first 14 carries. Stanford was limited to 49 yards on 15 carries at the half. Big Plays Fuel Irish Of- fense: Notre Dame outgained Stanford 415-328 in total yardage for the game. The Cardinal won the field position battle, but Notre Dame's big gains factored into that advantage. The two Irish touchdowns came on an 83-yard pass from junior quar- terback Brandon Wimbush to sopho- more wideout Kevin Stepherson, and a 75-yard strike from Wimbush to junior wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown to start the third quarter. What Didn't Work Not Playing The Football: There was a big contrast when it came to making plays on the football in the passing game. Notre Dame's receivers showed big-play ability, but failed to make some much-needed tough catches. With Wimbush often not on target, the Irish receivers needed to make a few plays on the ball and simply could not get it done. Stanford's pass catchers, however, were able to make those plays. Ju- nior wideout JJ Arcega-Whiteside outplayed Notre Dame safety Nick Coleman for a 21-yard gain in the first quarter, and classmate Trent Ir- win beat sophomore cornerback Troy Pride Jr. for a 29-yard touchdown on Stanford's first scoring drive. Arcega-Whiteside simply out-mus- cled Coleman for the football, and it wasn't the only time he out-played a Notre Dame defender for the ball. Notre Dame's defensive backs were consistently out-played for the ball, and when they didn't get beat for catches their inability to play the ball in the air resulted in costly pass interference penalties. Junior cornerback Shaun Crawford was called for a pass interference on third-and-six on Stanford's opening drive, and Pride was called for a pass interference penalty in the end zone on another third-down play in the third quarter, which ultimately led to a Stanford field goal. Not only should Pride not have been in position to get called for a penalty, both he and sophomore safety Jalen Elliott were in position to make an interception on a high and lofted pass, but neither could find the football. Can't Contain The Tight Ends: Stanford attacked the Notre Dame safeties with their tight ends all game long and was especially ef- fective throwing to its bigger pass catchers in the red zone. The Cardinal tight ends caught six passes for 91 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Sophomore Kaden Smith got between two Irish defend- ers for a 20-yard reception on a second quarter seam route, and two plays later he beat the defense for 26 yards on a wheel route, which set up a touchdown to give Stanford a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. After Notre Dame nudged ahead 20-17 late in the third quarter, Stanford responded with a 70-yard touchdown drive. The march ended with Smith beating Notre Dame ju- nior nickel back Shaun Craw- ford on a post route for a 19- yard touchdown. The backbreaking play was a 12-yard touchdown recep- tion by senior tight end Dal- ton Schultz after a Wimbush interception, which put Stan- ford up 31-20 in the fourth quarter. Fading Down The Stretch: Stanford adjusted to Notre Dame's plan for its big lineup and finished the game on a strong note. Love had 60 yards on his final six carries thanks to Stanford us- ing overload formations and spread- ing the Irish out after struggling with the power looks early in the game. Notre Dame's defense wasn't as effective tackling late against those looks, and the result was the Cardi- nal running for 58 of its 152 yards in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame's offense put the de- fense in some really bad spots late in the game, but the Irish defense was unable to respond and keep Stanford out of the end zone. The home team's final two scor- ing drives covered just 47 combined yards. Instead of holding the Cardinal to field goals, the Irish defense finally broke, giving up touchdowns after the first two fourth-quarter turnovers. ✦ Stanford: What Worked And What Didn't Work CLOSER LOOK BRYAN DRISKELL Bryan Driskell has been a football analyst for Blue & Gold Illustrated since April 2015. He can be reached at bdriskell@blueandgold.com. Wide receivers Kevin Stepherson (pictured) and Equanimeous St. Brown both had long touchdown receptions to spark Fighting the Irish offense. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA

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