Stanford: Keys to the Game

[fitz_bu47]

Call me a blind optimist, homer, tard-o if you will, and I may deserve it....but


ND-45
Stan-35

Offense keeps improving, eliminates big mistakes (red zone turnovers)....Defense improves, makes plays at crunch time.....Irish Win!




Cue the homer/delusional-comments....would rather be like this w/ faith (not blind) in the program, than Chicken Little.

Now if we get our asses handed to us, I will not say anything to the negative guys next week.

 

[Riddickulous]

Stanford 24, Notre Dame 14

And here's why...

Defensively, we continue to suck, letting Andrew Luck throw...and throw...and throw some more, probably to whoever Walls is covering.

Offensively, we still fail to establish one continuous rhythm. What do I mean by that? Well, you noticed against Michigan State that we were absolutely rolling in the first half, moving uncontested down the field. Then we fell apart. Then we got our rhythm back in the second half with three scores. Then near the middle of the fourth, we again fell apart. Crist puts up huge numbers again (350+), but only throws for a TD or two.

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

(as evidenced by the fact that the oddsmakers believe they are effectively a full TD better) I can see ND sneaking up on the Cardinal. Stanford has two much more important games coming up right after ND: at Oregon, then home to Palo Alto to host USC. Stanford's chances to win the Pac 10 could be determined by those two games.

One reason ND won't sneak up on Stanford: Harbaugh. The dude loves beating ND and he will have his kids fired up to play in South Bend. I know they have two big games following this one, but Harbaugh will be focused on this game.

 

[GoingGreen]

Stanford 24, Notre Dame 14

14 points? Our offense will put up more than 20 against Stanford, it's the defense that worries me.

 

[IrishBlood81]

I have faith, i don't know what it is ND can play the worst team in American, and it will be a 3 point game.

then they can play the number one team in the country and it still be a 3 point game. every game always seems to keep me on the edge of my seat, and ND always seems to be in a position to win. But as of in recent years, they have been heartbreaking losses.

this is a very talented team, they just need to click, it just sucks with the first six games, it doesn't allow for many mistakes to be made or ND will pay for it

Its cause...every team that plays us brings their best game. They say to themselves "this is Notre Dame, always on TV and if we win...we'll be in all the highlights and get majorly noticed". (hence why MSU and UM are both ranked after they beat us) They play against us like they play against no one else. Thats why they beat us than go and lose to some crappy team. No one accounts for this MAJOR factor for our program but its very true.


About Stanford. Its the passing game that scares me. Our secondary sucks, in all reality.
Can anyone explain to me why Darin Walls is still playing? His mistakes vs MSU were atrocious. I don't understand why he keeps the position...its just cause hes got no one else to replace him? I can't believes its just because hes a 5th year senior.



81

 

[jason_h537]

Stanford 24, Notre Dame 14

And here's why...

Defensively, we continue to suck, letting Andrew Luck throw...and throw...and throw some more, probably to whoever Walls is covering.

Offensively, we still fail to establish one continuous rhythm. What do I mean by that? Well, you noticed against Michigan State that we were absolutely rolling in the first half, moving uncontested down the field. Then we fell apart. Then we got our rhythm back in the second half with three scores. Then near the middle of the fourth, we again fell apart. Crist puts up huge numbers again (350+), but only throws for a TD or two.

We can scor on their D. Thats not the real problem. Stanford likes to break teams spirits. Watch the UCLA game, they just kept pounding them and pounding them and ppounding them till they broke. They are gonna want to keep the ball and run it down our throats. We need to score early and often

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

gut feeling....this is a game that ND needs...I think we will see a tough fought game. and we win....

dont get my wrong Stanford is good....however we are ND!

 

[Easton Pa ND Fan]

What bothers me about Stanford...

What bothers me about Stanford...

These are all very good points, but I see Stanford winning this game pretty easily.

They were able to virtually execute successfully every play
and every response to plays that ND will face or attempt to
execute. Call it real time practice.

These are the kind of "reps" you do not get during the week.
I hope it does not give them the edge...Tom

 

[nd1]

gut feeling....this is a game that ND needs...I think we will see a tough fought game. and we win....

dont get my wrong Stanford is good....however we are ND!

i hope your right but i got a bad feeling going into this one. but hey i had a good feeling going into michigan ad michigan st games so maybe we will win.

 

[The Polish Irishman]

I thought we would lose to Michigan but beat Michigan State. Stanford, their offense scares me, but not their d. Special Teams and Turnovers are the key to this game. And scoring TDs in the red zone.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Stanford 24, Notre Dame 14

And here's why...

Defensively, we continue to suck, letting Andrew Luck throw...and throw...and throw some more, probably to whoever Walls is covering.

Offensively, we still fail to establish one continuous rhythm. What do I mean by that? Well, you noticed against Michigan State that we were absolutely rolling in the first half, moving uncontested down the field. Then we fell apart. Then we got our rhythm back in the second half with three scores. Then near the middle of the fourth, we again fell apart. Crist puts up huge numbers again (350+), but only throws for a TD or two.

Wait...our defense sucks, but we only give up 24 points??? Stanford is a machine right now, and if we only give up 24 points we're either winning this game or coming damn close (yet again). Give up 24 points, and our defense is doing their job, all things considered.

And our offense keeps getting better. BK was a friggin' maestro in that 2nd half. It was beautiful watching him dial up plays that MSU had no defense for. Yeah, you're right, we lost it midway through the 4th, but there's no denying the continual improvement.

I HATE to predict ND losses, but this one is going to be a female dog of a game to pull out. It can be done, but we deserve to home dogs.

 

[Nd thruN'thru]

I have been saying all year so far that the offense needs to be more efficient. Wasn't it like three 3 and outs in a row in the fourth quarter against MSU? The offense can't keep throwing our struggling defense under the bus ecspecially with how thin we are in our secondary.

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

Wait...our defense sucks, but we only give up 24 points??? Stanford is a machine right now, and if we only give up 24 points we're either winning this game or coming damn close (yet again). Give up 24 points, and our defense is doing their job, all things considered.

And our offense keeps getting better. BK was a friggin' maestro in that 2nd half. It was beautiful watching him dial up plays that MSU had no defense for. Yeah, you're right, we lost it midway through the 4th, but there's no denying the continual improvement.

I HATE to predict ND losses, but this was is going to be a female dog of a game to pull out. It can be done, but we deserve to home dogs.

I gotta concur here. If it is 24-14 at the half I will be pretty happy. That would mean we are within striking distance and this team has been pretty good in the 3rd quarter.

I also hate to predict ND losses and I very rarely, if ever, do so. However, Stanford is good. They are solid and tough on both sides of the ball and Luck is a very, very good QB. I just don't see us winning this. I hope and pray we do, but we need to do everthing right and get a little lucky on some breaks too.

If mistakes and turnovers plague us this game, it is going to get ugly very quickly. If we keep the first half close, we have a good chance. If we get down by more than two scores early on, we might see a masacre. Harbaugh won't let up and if he has a chance to hang 70 on us, he will. He doesn't give a rats arse about tradition or anything like that. He will pound on the Irish if given the opportunity.

 

[RDU Irish]

With the help of a defensive or special teams score, we win a shoot-out 48-45 on a last second, 52 yard field goal by Mr. Ruffer. Otherwise, we win in overtime on a pick six.

I think this is the best team we face this year. Score early and often IRISH!!!!

 

[mgriff]

ND needs to create turnovers, prevent the big play, and not stall on drives. Establishing our offense early is crucial so we can maintain that momentum throughout the game in order to score with Stanford if we need to. Stanford wins, 38-27.

 

[tko]

can someone get a hand up on the defensive line and knock a few Luck passes down or get some tips to our dbacks/lb's?

 

[ACamp1900]

can someone get a hand up on the defensive line and knock a few Luck passes down or get some tips to our dbacks/lb's?

something that has bugged me for a few years... GET YOUR HANDS UP... just about every other cfb program worth a **** does that... we rarely ever do that... such a fundemental aspect that is obviously missing

 

[jason_h537]

I gotta concur here. If it is 24-14 at the half I will be pretty happy.

If we give up 24 in a half i will not be happy

 

[jason_h537]

can someone get a hand up on the defensive line and knock a few Luck passes down or get some tips to our dbacks/lb's?

This has alot to do with experience and fundamentals. Perfect example was Motta's play where he got flagged in the endzone for PI. He was in perfect position running step by step with the reciever but he didnt turn around. That could have been his second pick but he just isnt ready yet. Not sure if Slaughter fixes this either

 

[IrishinSyria]

This has alot to do with experience and fundamentals. Perfect example was Motta's play where he got flagged in the endzone for PI. He was in perfect position running step by step with the reciever but he didnt turn around. That could have been his second pick but he just isnt ready yet. Not sure if Slaughter fixes this either

To be fair, its also a freakishly hard thing to do when you're trying to run with a good WR step for step. You see guys in the NFL fail to get their heads turned around all the time.

 

[no.1IrishFan]

I think this game is gonna come down to whoever scores more points. You're welcome

 

[IrishMoore1]

we will get blown out

 

[tankjeep]

can someone get a hand up on the defensive line and knock a few Luck passes down or get some tips to our dbacks/lb's?

good point technical knockout. i've been screaming the same thing during games.....

and they never listen.

 

[tankjeep]

I think this game is gonna come down to whoever scores more points. You're welcome

reps homie.

 

[NDOM]

Keys to the game you say????

1) NO TURNOVERS
2) Score 60 (Not sure that will be even enough)
3) Get 10 takeaways from Stanford.
4) Dont give up 600 yards like we have the first 3 games on average.
5) Play a dime defense on ALL field goal attempts.

If we do these 5 things we may eek out a win. but highly doubtful.

 

[GEORGIA DOMER]

i pick the irish the last to weeks so here we go stanford-45 ND-38 prove me wrong kelly!

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

Alot of things need to go right if we are going to win this one. Can we win this game?? YES..., but obviously, we need to do some things better like, tackling, pressure on the quarterback, TURNOVERS (Have to stop this crap!!) and not forget our running game. We have to control both lines of scrimmage, execute and take care of the darned ball. Stanford is an excellent team and warrants our respect. We need to be ready this Saturday on all levels if we are to beat them. I think we can, but it will be a nail biter again. Hope this time we can finish it with a win. Too many losses over the last couple of years decided by less than 7 points!!!

 

[JeremyND07]

Until we get depth at safety we will not be able to keep any team under 21 points. Our defense is on the field way too long during a game! I also think DC is due for that horrible game....just have feeling BK chewing on him so much will make him tentative! I agree with most that it will be a blowout!

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

Sure hope this isn't a blowout! I am being hopeful and trying to be optimistic to think we can keep this game close. I'm just afraid we will end up with the short end of the stick if we play sloppy. It is nice having Slaughter back. Hope that helps us our some in the secondary.

 

[NDOM]

I would put alot of my vbucks on stanford, but I never got the vbucks I bet with AND won on betting on Michigan State last week. So oh well.