By Justin Albers
INDIANAPOLIS- It was a sight that we have seen often from Notre Dame this season. Saturday the Irish had yet another slow start, and failed to put Stanford away in the first half. Notre Dame got the ball first, and had a drive that their offense really needed. They went 91 yards on 16 plays to put themselves up 7-0 early. The Cardinal moved the ball well on the next drive, but stalled once they got to the Notre Dame 4 yard line. They settled for a field goal to make it 7-3 after the first quarter of play.
The second quarter was very quiet, with nobody scoring until the final minute. Notre Dame put together a nice 2 minute drill type drive, and scored a touchdown with 29 ticks remaining in the first half. The scoring play was a 15 yard pass from Brady Quinn to Rhema Mcknight, giving Quinn his 2nd TD pass of the day.
Notre Dame's defense started to dominate in the second half, coming up with sacks at big times. On Notre Dame's initial drive of the second half, they went 76 yards in 6 plays and scored a touchdown on a 32 yard Darius Walker run. Walker accounted for most of the yardage on that drive, and helped the Irish to put Stanford away. Nobody else was able to score until Carl Gioia added to Notre Dame's lead with a 35 yard field goal at the end of the 3rd quarter.
It didn't take long for Stanford to get on the board in the fourth quarter, in fact in only took them 33 seconds. The Cardinal went 80 yards on just 4 plays, the scoring play being a halfback pass from Anthony Kimble to Kelton Lynn that covered 57 yards. Stanford was back within 2 touchdowns, but Notre Dame made sure they didn't get any comeback ideas. The Irish put together a 12 play 77 yard drive and put it in the end zone on a 1 yard TD pass from Quinn to TE John Carlson. Notre Dame went back up 21 points, and that is the way that it finished. Final Score: ND 31 Stanford 10
JJ's Grades
Notre Dame had another slow start, which worries me a little bit. I think they really need to get working in this off week and come back strong against UCLA because the Bruins have a talented team this year. They can't be looking ahead to USC quite yet.
Pass Offense- B
Brady Quinn may have had good numbers, but against a defense like Stanford's his numbers should have been great. It looks like his timing is starting to improve, but he hasn't proven that he can complete the deep ball yet this season.
Rush Offense- B
Even though Darius Walker ended up with a bunch of yards, Notre Dame struggled to run the ball in the first half. Stanford has one of the worst defenses in the country, so every Irish running back should have had a good day. Walker is as deep as Notre Dame gets at the position, which is a cause for concern in South Bend.
Overall Offense-B
The offense had a decent day, but when you are playing a team like Stanford you shouldn't have to even dress a punter. Notre Dame scored on most of their drives, but not all of them. This is a game where they should have been able to put up more points, but a win is a win.
Pass Defense- B+
Despite a slow start, Notre Dame's defense really got in going in the second half. Trent Edwards only threw the ball 13 times, so it is hard to really grade the Irish defense. The one play that they did get burnt on went for a 57 yard touchdown. The Notre Dame defense is susceptible to the trick play, just another thing for them to work on this week.
Rush Defense-C+
Notre Dame was giving up huge chunks of yards to running backs that never get any yards. I was really disappointed with the Irish rush defense, and that is definitely something that they need to improve on. Every running back that they have played this year has run all over them, and that really needs to stop if they want a chance at a BCS bowl.
Overall Defense- B-
The Cardinal does not really have an offensive threat, but besides the trick play the Notre Dame defense played pretty well. The defense is obviously the weakest part of the Irish team, so I think that the rush is something they really need to work on for the next 2 weeks. They have to learn to stop the run before they play UCLA, Navy, or USC.
Key Statistics:
The Notre Dame defense has given up 807 yards rushing this season, an average of 134.5 yards per game.
The combined record of Notre Dame's opponents so far this season is 22-14, the remaining opponents have a combined record of 20-11.
Key Players:
Notre Dame:
Brady Quinn 27/37 232 yards 3 TD 0 INT
Darius Walker 25 carries 153 yards 1 TD
Jeff Samardzija 7 rec 50 yards 1 TD
John Carlson 6 rec 38 yards 1 TD
Rhema McKnight 5 rec 62 yards 1 TD
Stanford:
Trent Edwards 7/13 68 yards 0 TD 0 INT
Anthony Kimble 15 carries 63 yards 1/1 57 yards TD
Kelton Lynn 4 rec 86 yards 1 TD
The Irish play again................October 21st vs. UCLA
The rest of the top 25...................
#1 Ohio State 35 Bowling Green 7 #11 Oregon 24 #16 Cal 45
#2 Auburn 10 Arkansas 27 #15 Clemson 27 Wake 17
#3 USC 26 Washington 20 #17 Florida St. 20 N.C. St. 24
#4 West Virginia 42 Miss St. 14 #18 GT 27 Maryland 23
#5 Florida 23 LSU 10 #19 Iowa 47 Purdue 17
#6 Michigan 31 Michigan St. 13 #20 Boise St. 55 LT 14
#7 Texas 28 Oklahoma 10 #22 Nebraska 28 ISU 14
#8 Louisville 44 MTSU 17 #23 Missouri 38 TTU 21
#10 Georgia 33 #13 Tennessee 51
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