WOW! What a game! This was a classic in the history of the Notre Dame-Stanford rivalry.
Going into it, I didn't really know what to expect. The reason being that I really didn't know how good either team was. Sure The Irish have been dominant and were 4-0, but their opponents were a combined 7-12 with no wins over teams from major conferences. There were just as many questions about The Cardinal. Shut out wins over Army and UC Davis are nothing to write home about. They had also lost a defensive struggle to USC and was very shaky a week ago in beating Washington.
One thing we did know was that this was going to be the toughest defense Notre Dame has seen all year. Going into the game, Stanford had only given up 26 points all season. This defense also is a veteran group with mostly seniors.
Take that and combine it with the worst weather conditions of the season so far, you would conclude that Everett Golson and company would have a really tough day. And they did. Golson had a fumble and an interception early. That led to a Kevin Hogan rushing touchdown on a drive that only required 10 yards. Not only that but Golson completed less than half of his throws and really was off on many of them.
But give him credit. He responded by making a run over 30 yards that led to a touchdown pass to Chris Brown. He also led an early fourth quarter drive that ended in a heck of a kick by Kyle Brindza from 45 yards. That gave the Irish a short lived lead. Stanford then put together a long time consuming drive that ended in an 11 touchdown run from local kid Redmound Wright. There were only three and a half minutes left. Golson had one last chance and he made the most of it. On 4th and 11, he found an unlikely hero in Tight End Ben Koyack in the endzone to take the lead with only minute left. Koyack has not caught many passes all season and only had one for five yards all day.
Golson finished with 241 yards and two touchdowns. Given the weather conditions and the fact that this is one of the best defenses in the nation, that is pretty damn good. His best receivers were Brown and Corey Robinson who came to life in the 4th quarter. The Irish finally got a little production from the running game with Cam McDaniel who had 41 yards. McDaniel was the primary featured back in this game and it seemed to pay off a little.
One guy who really deserves a lot of credit is Hunter Smith. This young man had a hard time handling the snaps in the weather conditions. Holding is not easy to begin with but in weather like this, it is even tougher. For him to botch two and still have the confidence to come back and put a critical one down says a lot about him.
Now for the studs of this game, the defense. Under Brian VanGorder, this young unit has really been impressive. Guys like Jaylon Smith and Max Redfield are really beginning to make names for themselves. It is a totally different style from Bob Diaco's bend but don't break style. This is all out attack bringing everybody. Other than that one long drive late, Stanford's offense was able to nothing all day. Their leading rusher was Wright with only 29 yards. Hogan was intercepted twice by Cole Luke and he only had 158 yards passing. The unit brought the house at Hogan on the final drive that forced him to throw an intentional grounding ball. That caused a runoff that ended the game.
From the time of Brindza's kick to the intentional grounding Irish fans everywhere had their hearts beating over 100. It was never a safe feeling until the final seconds ticked. With the win, the Irish move to 5-0 and will likely jump a few spots with Oregon, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A & M, and UCLA all losing.
Going forward, Notre Dame has North Carolina next followed by a trip to Tallahassee for a showdown with Florida State. They also end the season with two PAC 12 road trips to Arizona State and USC. Northwestern is starting to play really good football and Louisville is looking good too. If Notre Dame makes it to the playoffs, nothing would have been handed to them.
Go Irish! Great Win!
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