Based on what has happened this season, though, there’s no reason to actually count out Notre Dame, who has found ways to compensate for injuries and should be able to move the ball against a Stanford defense that has taken a big step back from past year. It won’t be easy as the Irish haven’t won Stanford since 2007. Prosise later exited the game in the second quarter with an injury, which Kelly said postgame was a high ankle sprain, and he had totaled 54 yards on nine rushes to that point.
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Notre Dame has not won at Stanford Stadium since 2007. Led by senior left guard Joshua Garnett, who was announced recently as a finalist for the Outland Trophy, this offensive line has decimated opposing defensive lines.
If Notre Dame wins at Stanford on Saturday, it might be time to start engraving Brian Kelly’s name on various national coach of the year awards. We’ve got to keep their offense off the field.
The spring quarterback competition was between Everett Golson, who quarterbacked the Irish to the national title game in 2012, and Malik Zaire.
Running back C.J. Prosise hit the 1,000 yard mark for the season after running eight times of 54 yards. He’s had a few drops, but he’s one of the nation’s top playmakers, averaging over 20 yards per catch. He is a finalist for the Doak Walker award, given to the nation’s best running back, and the Maxwell Award, which is given to the country’s best college football player.
For a look at important Notre Dame players and key matchups check out Sean Levy’s piece here. If the Irish can slow McCaffrey down, the pressure will fall on Hogan to win the game with his arm. If Stanford is going to stand any chance of sneaking into the College Football Playoff and carry the Pac-12 banner, it absolutely must be dominant against Notre Dame this week and either USC or UCLA in the Pac-12 Championship game next week. The tight end position also is in transition with its inexperience.
Although the numbers have certainly been there for Christian McCaffrey and the Stanford offensive line over the last few games, this Cardinal offense has seemed a lot less dynamic over the last few weeks, particularly in the passing game. At 6-foot-four, 248 pounds, Hooper is a big body that has been reliable for Hogan all season long. Stanford’s Conrad Ukropina has made 14 of 16. The Irish have tallied 11 touchdowns from at least 50 yards, which is believed to be a single season school record. Michael Rector and Christian McCaffrey have combined for 839 receiving yards and seven touchdowns while Austin Hooper has 26 receptions. The Irish will be without their top cornerback after KeiVarae Russell broke his right leg last week. “All we can do is try to get a win against Stanford and, I guess, hopefully the committee changes their mind”.
Part of the problem for Notre Dame is what’s been out of its control – specifically, Texas and Georgia Tech failing to reach bowl eligibility and, to date, its two best wins being over AAC sides in Temple and Navy (which was blown out by Houston on Friday and will not play in next week’s AAC Championship Game). In games shaping up to be close, turnovers often make the difference, and I like Stanford’s chances of taking care of the ball at home. This season, he’s completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 2,231 yards with 19 scores to just seven interceptions. The question is how impressive can they do so? He’s taken off 64 times this season for 276 and four touchdowns.
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The Notre Dame defense on the back end is prone to giving up big plays. Remound Wright countered with an 11-yard touchdown run to lift Stanford ahead 14-10, however, with 3:01 remaining in regulation. He’s truly, truly special.”TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FOX”.
