SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No. 11 Notre Dame entered its bye week hopeful of making a playoff push. It returns to the field in control of its playoff fate.
The next step: Beating Stanford.
Notre Dame doesn’t face any more teams that are currently ranked, a similar situation to what it faced last season before everything unraveled in a loss at Louisville. It was a tough lesson to learn but it could propel the Irish where they believe they belong — in the expanded 12-team playoff field.
“I would say it made us more mature,” running back Jeremiyah Love said, referring to what they learned. “Not getting the outcome that we wanted last year, most definitely, gave a lot of people a chip on our shoulder. Our goal coming into this year is to get a better outcome, and, you know, reach a higher standard, trying to be better than we were last year.”
The Fighting Irish (4-1) have rebounded nicely from the shocking loss to Northern Illinois in their home opener. They won three straight before getting a break ahead of their annual matchup with struggling Stanford (2-3).
Love said he and his teammates never doubted their ability or goals following that loss and instead focused simply on improving.
So far, so good.
But Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman is wary. Yes, Stanford has lost back-to-back games, but its a largely similar team to the one that forced four turnovers in last season’s 56-23 victory for the Irish. He’s also wary of the problems caused by creative playing-calling coach Troy Taylor.
“I have a lot of respect for (Taylor) as an offensive play caller,” Freeman said. “As you look back at last year when we played them, they were a unique offense in terms of what they did. You’ll see a lot of stress put on a defense based off motions and shifts and formations. And they did some unique things in last year’s game where they gave us extra wide splits.”
Taylor has his own concerns, starting with the challenges posed by Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard, whose seven touchdowns rank second among all Power 4 quarterbacks.
And that’s not all. The Irish average 214.0 yards rushing per game, largely behind the punch of Love and Leonard.
“They do a really good job of utilizing him in the run game,” Taylor said. “He’s a good passer, he’s just a true dual-threat quarterback. He’s very accurate as a (passer), and he’s got some good weapons behind him.”
The bigger challenge for Stanford may be finding cracks in Notre Dame’s stingy defense.
The Irish have allowed only 12.6 points per game, ninth in the FBS, and Taylor’s concern is how relentless and physical Notre Dame plays.
“They’re where they’re supposed to be, and they make very few mistakes,” Taylor said. “They’re great tacklers, so they’ve got really good speed.”
Notre Dame, meanwhile, is guarding against something else — complacency.
“This year, we are really, really focusing on our preparation before games, making sure we’re preparing the right way, making sure we’re focused, locking out the noise, and just locking in a lot more than we did last year,” Love said.
Rivalry respect
With Stanford’s move to the ACC this season, keeping this rivalry on the schedule each season could prove difficult. Taylor is hoping that won’t be the case.
“I think it’s a great rivalry,” he said. “Obviously, you have two incredible institutions that I think have a lot in common and have a lot of respect for each other. So, hopefully it continues. Obviously, you know, television and contracts and conferences and all those things play a role, but I know I certainly would love to continue to play Notre Dame.”
Penalty explained
Notre Dame defensive back Jordan Clark addressed his skirmish with Louisville receiver Chris Bell that resulted in a 15-yard penalty against Clark after he head-butted the Cardinal’s star.
“(Bell) hit me in the face and spit on me,” Clark said. “Ultimately, I can’t cost my team 15 yards, regardless of what happens. I’m never going to let somebody spit on me. I’m never going to let anybody punch me. But 15 yards is unacceptable.”