The #8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-0) lived up to their famous name on Saturday night at home, winning the fight 38-17 versus #7 Stanford (4-1 / 2-0 PAC 12). The Notre Dame offense went for over 500 yards in the contest, and their defense pushed the Cardinal around from start to finish. Stanford had won the last three matchups between these powerhouse regional rivals, who play yearly, but this one got away from them in the 2nd half.
The toughest hombre on the football field in this game was Irish senior defensive tackle Jerry Tillery (6 tackles / 4 sacks / 4 TFL / 2 QBH), who beat one or two Stanford blockers on nearly every play. With the havoc level that Tillery created at the line of scrimmage, and in the backfield, the Stanford offense was never able to find any rhythm.
Along those lines, All-World senior running back Bryce “Dr.” Love (17 carries / 73 yards / 1 TD / 4.3 YPC) had a spectacular 39-yard touchdown run in the 1st half, but left the game with 11 minutes left in the 4th quarter due to an undisclosed injury. The Cardinal faithful will certainly be hoping “The Doctor” is available when Utah visits The Farm next week, but only time, and Stanford head coach David Shaw will tell.
In regard to the strong ND D that limited Love’s talents, Tillery is surrounded by three other athletic big men up front. Fighting Irish junior D-linemen Daelin Hayes (4 tackles / 1 QBH / 1 PD), Julian Okwara (2 tackles / 1 TFL / 1 QBH), and Khalid Kareem (2 tackles / 1 sack / 1 TFL / 1 QBH) are all forces to be reckoned with on the inside, and provide the Irish a tremendous advantage at the point of attack.
Likewise, senior linebacker Te’von Coney (7 tackles / 2 PD / 1 TFL) was a thumper in the middle for Notre Dame. Brian Kelly’s defense as a whole looks to have hit full stride at this point in the season, and that is a major party plus for Fighting Irish fans.
On the other side of the ball, Notre Dame junior QB Ian Book (24 for 33 passing / 278 yards / 4 TD’s / 84.0 QBR) was nearly flawless, and with this caliber of performance he firmly entrenches himself as the starter for this team.
Senior wideout Miles Boykin (11 receptions / 144 yards / 1 TD / 13.1 YPR) was Book’s favorite “read” on the day, and the sell-out Irish crowd loved every page of it.
For Stanford the quarterback play of junior K.J. Costello (15 for 27 passing / 174 yards / 1 TD / 1 INT / 69.3 QBR) was erratic, but in all fairness he was getting harassed from every possible angle, as Lionel Richie sings, “all night long.”
In that regard, the highly touted Stanford O-line simply did not do their job, and that is putting it nicely. The coaching staff will have some tough talking points for the week, with that group especially, and can hopefully make the proper adjustments in personnel or scheme.
As I previously mentioned, the #14 Cardinal (4-0) will look to get right this weekend on The Farm vs. Utah (2-2), while #6 Notre Dame (5-0) plays on the road at #24 Virginia Tech (3-1). Fine folks, all of the glory and passion that makes college football is upon us. Enjoy it.
Just the same, win or lose, Roll Red.
Comments
Nice article, Max
Yes, we got thumped. And ND won this game in the trenches. I remember a presser by Chip Kelly back in 2012 explaining how Shayne Skov and his band of merry men continually harassed the Oregon offense and neutered the jet-ski tempo of the fleet-footed Ducks. Your article reads a bit like that, just this time we were on the receiving end of this abuse. Without getting pessimistic, I would just like to see that same toughness again on the Stanford side. Our current run of excellence is actually built on winning the war in the trenches. If we start to lose there consistently, the gig is up. No amount of jump ball brilliance between KJ and JJ will be able to make up for that. Utah is also a trench-warfare team. The challenge will not get easier going forward.
One other comment: why did we not see this article already on Sunday? As a long-time member of this board, I see a noticeable gap between game and RoT wrap-up of said game. That weakens the community at RoT and forces members to find any available thread (e.g., game thread) to post their thoughts, concerns, frustrations, etc. This is not constructive and not sustainable. The reaction-time used to be faster.
Rant over. Go Cardinal. Beat Utah.
By Jeff Tarnungus on 10.02.18 2:31pm
Agree re: winning the war in the trenches
I’m not sure what has happened to Stanford, but we have not been winning the battle up front all year. I’m not a film guy, but I wonder if that was even true last year and Love was just making them look better than they were. One way or another, it’s time to get tough on the OL again.
Was nice to see Bryce break one, but I’m starting to wonder if playing on that bad ankle all last year has taken its toll on him. For his sake especially, I sure hope that isn’t true.
Stanford D got their rear ends handed to them. This was a pretty thorough whipping. Hopefully, they’ll take it out on Utah this week.
By g8tgod on 10.02.18 6:47pm
Agreed god, our D got beat the heck up in South Bend. However, there is no time to be sad about it, as Utah is visiting The Farm on Saturday.
Beat those Utes. Roll Red.
By Max McArthur on 10.02.18 9:00pm
Jeff, as always, your memory of Stanford football history is spot on. Equally, Shayne Skov will always be one of my favorite players.
As far as my articles go, usually my Stanford game story will be published on Mondays, and The PAC Twelver on Wednesdays, unless I am traveling as I was this past weekend. Sorry for the delay, but I am still hoping to have ‘The Twelver’ up by tomorrow. For the weekly game recap, I like to go back and watch the game a second time on Sunday, so I can evaluate the angles void of emotion, then I write the story out Sunday night. As I was traveling, as I mentioned previously, I am a day behind. In any case, thanks for reading, and thanks as always for your relatable and detailed information. Cheers, and Go Stanford.
By Max McArthur on 10.02.18 8:55pm
Ah Shucks.............Sometimes We Are A Demanding Audience (of perhaps 11)
Max – Thanks for your contributions…….when time and life permit. We benefit from them!
I guess there are FanPosts if we are itching to write something ourselves!
I think Jeff’s point is…..even if there is a very limited post after the game, it provides a forum for comment ……..which is unavailable otherwise. I note that the ND site "OneFootDown" is pretty good at a limited comment with promises for more later. Again, it is all about the forum. No-one wants to go back to the gameblog and post more things……days after the game.
By hoyaparanoia on 10.02.18 9:44pm
Yes, that's the point, hoya!
As mentioned in another point, the CGB board immediately posts an Insta-Reaction, allowing Cal fans to chime in about what they have just seen and share their views. There is no deep analysis from the CGB staff, just a quick message and an appeal to forum members to provide their thoughts and grade the game.
By Jeff Tarnungus on 10.03.18 1:54am