Charlie Foy: This is the one game I never pick correctly, and I’ve incorrectly predicted the outcome for the past two years. This year, I’m picking the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to take down the Stanford Cardinal. Stanford was lucky to escape Eugene with a win, and in the process, Oregon exposed their offense and defense, and it certainly doesn’t help that the Irish found their groove and their quarterback versus Wake Forest. Stanford appears weak up front on both sides of the ball, which is not typical for Stanford football, and will need to win on the shoulders of K.J. Costello, and beating the Irish single-handedly is a heavy load to bear. However, I would never count Costello out of a game; it’ll be a close finish. Ultimately, I’m picking Notre Dame to win 28-24, but here’s to hoping I’m wrong, again…
Kyle Fierro: Last week Costello threw a poor ball- a step behind a receiver that was surrounded by four or five duck defenders. The result? Game winning catch by 6’7” Colby Parkinson. Going against an ND defense known for its defensive backs, the Stanford offense matchup will be strength against strength. I don’t care how good your 5’11” corners are; they cannot cover the Stanford pass catchers if Costello is on. In addition, Stanford will have their best starting five OL yet for this game, and they will be looking to finally get the run game going against an ND defense that gave up 260 rushing yards to Wake Forest. There is no reason Stanford can’t put together their most complete offensive performance to date. On a team that has the potential to score 40+ points regularly, I’ll guess Stanford puts up 41 tomorrow. On the other side of the ball, I think Stanford’s defense is showing itself to be average to slightly above average. Despite ND opening up the passing game last week with new starting quarterback Ian Book, the ND offense is not as good as Herbert’s Oregon offense from last week. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and say they equal Oregon’s offensive scoring. 41-31 Stanford final score.
Marlaina Calhoun: Last week versus Oregon, I predicted Stanford to lose...without much reasoning behind it. But, based on Stanford’s first-half performance, I was on track to be correct. Thank goodness I was wrong. This week, my instinct is to say the worst again and let the universe correct me, again. But back Dexter Williams is returning for the Irish this week. I don’t think they’ll use him as their primary weapon, but he will have big plays that make the difference for the Irish. Although Book looked great last week vs Wake Forest, he has a history of being interception-prone and Stanford is not Wake Forest. Did Stanford barely make it by a very unappreciated Oregon? Yes. But my gut tells me that Costello and the rest of the offense have confidence this week with the game holding all of the marbles. Stanford’s defense knows they cannot be pushed around this week and will hold their own in a very close game. I see this one coming down to whoever has the last possession.
Colton Molesky: The Cardinal need to force Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book into ill-advised deep throws. The formula for the defense is to rush Book and get the offense playing behind the chains. For Stanford’s offense, the Bryce Love big game potential is there, but Costello has proven talented enough to win games on his arm, which opens up the playbook for the Cardinal. Expect another big game from tight end Kaden Smith, and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside to victimize the smaller Notre Dame corners. Stanford wins 33-24.
Comments
My theory is that ND is overrated
I hope that my theory is correct and/or that Stanford plays a great game to get a big win on the road.
By worldblee on 09.29.18 9:18am
I thought the same about the Ducks
and was wrong. I just hope WE aren’t overrated.
By Jeff Tarnungus on 09.29.18 9:23am
My pre-season prognosis
was that the Stanford-ND game would be our first loss of the season. Even though the defense is better than originally advertised and the passing game has been clicking between KJ and his receiving corps, I still have to give a slight edge to the Irish in this one. It’s in their backyard (always a tough place to play), and our O-line has not yet produced effective run-blocking. My feeling is that the Irish have a 60/40 probability of taking this game by a field goal or slightly more. For Stanford to win, we will need an effective passing AND rushing game; and our defense will need to show up immediately this game and not wait until the second half. It would asking too much for a second straight miracle comeback with three turnovers from the opponent. So I am going 31-28 Irish and hope I am wrong. If the Cardinal prevail, it would be a strong statement for the rest of this season. If we exit South Bend at 5-0 and handle Utah at home before the bye, we would be in great shape for the last half of the season, which includes four road games (Washington, ASU, UCLA and Cal).
By Jeff Tarnungus on 09.29.18 9:22am
Stanford and Notre Dame Are Probably Both Overrated
Each team’s 4 – 0 record is not without some issues. But there has also been good play, with the potential for improvement from both teams.
This will sound cliched a bit but whichever team controls the line of scrimmage today and makes big plays, both on offense and defense, will win this game. I think the teams are very evenly matched – and each has had difficulty dominating the line of scrimmage.
Stanford has every ability to win this game, but will need to play at its best and avoid costly mistakes (giving up big runs for example). I think Bryce Love will be shut down and it will fall, as it has all season, on Costello and the receivers (and our defense) to bring this game home as a "W".
I think the home field advantage is larger at Notre Dame than many other stadiums. The tailgates have started hours ago and will go on all day prior to the 7:30 PM EST kickoff. It will be a zoo. And the refs will be playing a bit for the home team (watch out for PI calls against Stanford!).
Regrettably, I think ND takes this one by 7 – 10 points, say 34 – 24.
But…………Go Cardinal and prove me wrong!
By hoyaparanoia on 09.29.18 1:46pm
Could be
I harbor this hope that, one day soon, the O-line will live up to its promise and deliver a tremendous blocking effort for our running backs, resulting in a 200+ yard game for Dr. Love. If it happens, it would be a pivotal moment in the season and could be the essential ingredient in a spectacular run. Let’s hope it happens in this game.
By Jeff Tarnungus on 09.29.18 2:12pm
And It Has Happened Before....
So my hopes are totally with you Jeff……………….TWU needs to step up!
By hoyaparanoia on 09.29.18 2:31pm
Go Tree!!!
And go UW and CAL.
By OldDawg72 on 09.29.18 2:17pm
Thanks, OldDawg72
I’m a Dawg from way, way back and hope you obliterate BYU today.
By Jeff Tarnungus on 09.29.18 3:04pm
To Kyle Fierro, et al
I can see why many went with Stanford. I was at the ND/WF game last week and was as surprised as anyone that ND actually put together a strong offensive effort behind Ian Book. A lot of ND alums, including myself, weren’t sure that Book was up to the task. And even when he did lead the Irish to 56 points, it was still a question of whether he was simply a one-hit wonder that had his way with a defense that is one of the worst in the country. But Book did do one thing—he gave us the feeling that just maybe we might have a QB that would be able to do more than just run the ball. Stanford always proves to be a tough test for ND, and the last three years, when Stanford pulled out wins after ND led going into the 4th quarter, were particularly painful.
The one strength that we all had faith in was ND’s ability to stop the run. You mention the 260 yards rushing that WF put up as a sample of ND’s weakness against the run, but the fact is that 155 of those yards came in the 4th quarter, after ND had pulled most of its starting defensive unit off the field. I assumed that Bryce Love would do his usual damage, but based on ND’s effectiveness against the run, I was confident that he would be contained for most of the game, and that Stanford’s rushing game would be a non-factor. I did worry more about Stanford’s passing attack, but here again, ND’s defense against the pass has been overall pretty good. Given all of that, I thought that Costello might be good for a couple of passing TDs and that Stanford might score 17-24 points, but no more.
The question was whether or not ND would be able to step up and make us believe that the previous week was not a fluke. If Book proved to be the real thing, I put ND down for at least 30 points and the win. If he wasn’t, I was looking at another very close game, with Stanford possibly pulling it out at the end, as it has done much too often. It was a great win for the Irish, but it’s more a start of ND’s real campaign for the playoffs. Stanford has a bigger battle, but I don’t doubt that you have the talent and coaching to win the rest of your games. From a purely selfish point of view, I hope you do as it will make this win even bigger for the Irish. No matter how well Stanford and ND do, it will still have to face the bias the media has for Bama, Clemson and Ohio State, three teams that they have already predestined for the playoffs. Oklahoma and Georgia also stand in the way. Hopefully, college football will play true to form and most if not all of these teams will at least have one loss, which may open the door to the playoffs. In the meantime, good luck in the Pac12 and winning out.
By ndocd on 09.30.18 12:56pm
Book was excellent, but ND won this game in the trenches
If the Stanford front-seven had been able to put some pressure on Book, his production would have plummeted. Likewise, if our O-line had been run- and pass-blocking effectively, our O would have produced long, sustained drives that would have limited possessions and kept Book and his offense off the field. Our line-play simply wasn’t up to the task yesterday. Too many three-and-outs on offense; and our D was on the field too long (ND won the TOP battle 34.5 to 25.5: Stanford normally wants it the other way around). Shaw confessed to this in his presser after the game and seemed a bit shell-shocked when providing answers to the journalists. Strong line-play is part of Stanford’s identity, but we haven’t really been getting it this year. We were expecting the front-seven on defense to struggle; but the O-line was supposed to be a monster. Well, so far this season, the monster has yet to stir. Good luck the rest of the season. Obviously, your success going forward also helps our resume.
By Jeff Tarnungus on 09.30.18 1:13pm