Thursday Tidbits — Stanford

Happy Thursday - These are your Thursday Tidbits - Stanford

Fifteen and Counting

Notre Dame’s 15th consecutive win by double digits, now the second longest streak in college football history, proved to be a reminder that the offense has more upside than it showed in September. Freshman Jonaz Walton ran 23 times for 120 yards and had a late 31-yard touchdown wiped out by a penalty, leading the Irish rushing attack that secured 241 yards against Carolina. 

CJ Carr’s four touchdown passes moved him to #10 all-time for the Irish with 37. Carr is three touchdown passes behind Rick Mirer (40) for ninth place on Notre Dame’s career list.

Special teams struggled by allowing a kickoff return for a touchdown, the first in eight seasons. While the defense was exploited by passing routes to the tight ends. Nonetheless, it was the sixth consecutive game that the Irish yielded fewer than 100 yards rushing and remains tops in the country in total defense allowing just 216 yards per game. The Irish have also committed the fewest penalties in the country with 14 through five games.

999*

If all goes as planned on Saturday, Notre Dame will record its 999th victory in program history. Officially, the NCAA will not recognize this number (977), having vacated 21 wins (losses are not vacated) in the 2012 and 2013 seasons—yes, erase from your memory the 2012 run to the national championship game and the Pinstripe Bowl victory the next season. The reason, a student athletic trainer completed coursework, wrote papers, and provided impermissible academic extra benefits for multiple football players, a violation ND self-reported.

Only Michigan with 1,024 wins is ahead of the Irish. Ohio and Bama are the only two other schools over 990, with only four other teams surpassing 900 victories.

ND has an all time record of 998-342-42 over 138 years of football. The .745 winning percentage is the best in history (also not recognized by the NCAA).

Captain Andrew Luck

Soldier. Cardinal tactician. Colt. Simple man.

Dearest Mother,

I write to you from the eastern front, where our weary band of Cardinal men has been ordered to march yet farther into hostile territory. Our destination is a place called South Bend to face the Irish Brigade.

The scouts bring troubling news.

The Irish army, the strongest in the land, remains undefeated. Our own campaign has been less fortunate. The journey to Wake Forest was, by all accounts, a calamity. Morale is fragile. Provisions are low. The men have begun questioning why.

Mother, I know this enemy well. I have advised our commanders to keep the pigskin secure, defend the perimeter, and under no circumstances allow the fighting Irishmen behind our lines.

Should we prevail, historians will speak of it for generations.

Give my love to all at home.

Your devoted son,

Andrew

Leland Stanford Junior University

By many metrics, Stanford can be considered the best university in the country. Incredible academics, opportunity for graduates to become part of some of the greatest companies in the world, first class research, great athletics program, and weather that beats any Ivy League or Notre Dame.

Unfortunately for them, they are terrible in football. They come into Saturday’s game with a record of 2-3, coming off a 57-3 loss at Wake Forest, the same team that Purdue took to double overtime. They have also lost to Miami 45-6 earlier in the year. According to the Sagarin ratings, they are the worst Power4 team in the country, averaging 17.4 points per game, placing them 131st in the country.. Their total defense ranks 134th nationally. The Cardinal is in the midst of a thirteen game road losing streak, the longest in the country.

Defensively, Matt Rose (35) is one of the best linebackers in the ACC. He leads the conference in tackles per game with 9.5 and nationally is 15th in the country. Offensively, Micah Ford (20) has been heavily relied on to lead the Stanford backfield. Through Week 5, Ford ranks second among ACC running backs in carries (82), rushing for 302 yards, and is tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns (4). Their QB, Davis (8) is pedestrian, however protects the ball with only one interception in 173 attempts.

The university was established in 1891 by transcontinental railroad builder Leland Stanford and his wife Jane as a memorial to their late son. Today, the school’s acceptance rate is the lowest in the country at 4%, its unofficial mascot is a tree; its nickname is a color, and they have won more national championships than any other university.

The founders of WhatsApp, OpenAI, Cisco, Google, Trader Joe’s, Capital One, Intel, Netflix, Hewlett Packard, Nvidia, YouTube, Nike, and Instagram, to name a few, all attended Stanford. Along with Sam the bartender from Cheers, Curly the cowboy from City Slickers, Ted Koppel, Sygourney Weaver, Reese Witherspoon, authors John Steinbeck and Scott Turow, President John F. Kennedy, two Super Bowl winning QB’s, two Master’s champions, and 335 Olympic medalists - you get the picture.

The Game

Saturday will mark the 40th meeting between Notre Dame and Stanford. The series stands with a 25-14-0 Notre Dame advantage all-time. The two teams play for the Legends Trophy, which is a combination of Irish crystal and California redwood. The trophy was presented for the first time in 1989 by the Notre Dame Club of the San Francisco area.

The contest is the annual “Wear Green” game in which the Irish are 7-1 since 2018. This year's jerseys will feature the recently introduced football leprechaun logo on the shoulders. The last time a leprechaun logo appeared on the shoulders of a football uniform was on the Irish green 2015 Shamrock Series jerseys that were worn in Fenway Park against Boston College.

Notre Dame opened as a 37.5 point favorite with an O/U of 54.5. The Irish list starters Leonard Moore and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa as questionable.

The weather in South Bend is expected to be beautiful for kickoff with this game serving as a final tune-up for the meat of the schedule. The outdoor exercise on a spectacular fall afternoon will improve the Cardinal sleep for the flight home after two consecutive eastern timezone games.

The Irish will win big and the final score doesn’t matter. Let’s get out of the game injury free with lots of minutes for the back ups.

Those are your Thursday Tidbits - Stanford

Stay thirsty, my friends. 

Go Otters and Go Irish!

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