Irish Blogger Gathering: Stanford Edition

One Foot Down has the questions this week.  Answers are below.

1.      After suffering through back to back heart breaking losses how have your expectations for this season changed?  Has the rough start affected your expectations for the Brian Kelly era?

My expectations for the season and for the Kelly era have a whole haven't changed much at all.  There was a little part in the back of my brain that thought he would immediately whip this team into shape and go on a 6-0 run to start the season, and while that part has been silenced, there hasn't been a lot that's happened that goes against my initial prediction: 3-3 to start, split Utah/USC, win the bowl game and have a decent amount of buzz going into the 2011 season.  If two plays had gone Notre Dame's way and the team was 3-0 right now, I'd certainly be happier and more excited for the bowl destination, but it doesn't change anything about the long term goal.

2.      Our defense has given up 28 points in both of our last two games. But our defense has also forced a few three and outs and has looked fairly stout out times. So on D, are we Jekyll or Hyde?  Or are we just a work in progress?

Both?  The defense is still learning a new system and lacks depth, so there will be periods when the talent shines - like the last few series at the end of the Michigan State game-  and periods where inexperience, lack of talent or a player simply being out of position costs the Irish with either big plays or long, painful drives.  No one expected the defense to be dominant this year, just an improvement over last year, and I think that's still possible despite a rough couple of outings against the Michigan schools.

3.      I've heard that Bill Walsh believed that if he saw a player make one great play, he and his staff could coach that player to consistently make great plays. The Irish offense clearly made some great plays against State.  Our Offense also unfortunately disappeared at critical times. Are we just witnessing the process of Kelly and his staff teaching the lads to consistently make great plays?

Seems legitimate to me.  Dayne Crist was much, much better against Michigan State than he was against Purdue, and I see no reason to think that improvement won't continue when you factor in Kelly's quarterback history and Crist's pedigree.  Michael Floyd needs to hold onto the damn ball, but as long as he and Crist cut down on turnovers, the rest of the offense - Kyle Rudolph, the offensive line, TJ, Theo, Armando - have all done really, really well thus far.  If the team cuts down on the turnovers and keeps Crist improving, I don't see any reason why this won't be a dominant offense at the end of the season.

4.      Where would you rank Stanford among the Irish opponents? Would a defeat of the Cardinal be the biggest win of the last six years?

Tough to say at this point, but they're certainly in the top quarter or so, along with USC and Utah.  We're going to know a lot more about Stanford in three weeks (Notre Dame, Oregon, Southern Cal) than we do now, so I don't want to go crowning them just yet, as their competition hasn't been particularly fierce.  Would it be the biggest win in the last six years?  If this is going back to the start of the Weis Era, then certainly not, as '05 gave us wins at Michigan and against Tennessee, while '06 gave us the opener at a Gator Bowl-bound Georgia Tech team and Penn State at home.  It would probably be the biggest win of the last few years, just because there aren't many good victories to choose from (Michigan State and Boston College last year?  The Hawaii Bowl?).

5. While many outsiders and a contingent of fans have cited ND's academic standards as a hindrance to football success, many Irish supporters consider Notre Dame's unique combination of strong academics and big-time football (and faith) as an advantageous niche in the college football world.  With stricter admission standards and far-less football notoriety, Harbaugh's Cardinal have burst onto the national recruiting scene to again prove that plenty of really good football players welcome academic challenges as long as they come with a chance to compete at the highest level.  Could you foresee sustained excellence by Stanford Football and would you perceive a perennially strong Cardinal program as any kind of a threat to Notre Dame's niche?

For sure.  I think Notre Dame will always have the advantages of being Notre Dame, but if there were kids on the west coast who could stay a little closer to home, get a top twenty education while playing football on a top twenty team, you'd have to imagine that would definitely cost the Irish on occasion.  It's not like Stanford doesn't have a strong history, the recent Walt Harris Era notwithstanding, so there's a lot to build on.  The question is whether Harbaugh will stick around, and if he doesn't, if the next coach can keep up the intense recruiting that Harbaugh has done.

6. Let's talk statistics.  Will they matter this weekend?

a. Coming into the game, Stanford has the #3 ranked Scoring Offense nationally (51.67 pts/gm) with the 14th ranked Rushing Offense (242.33 yds/gm).  Notre Dame's Scoring Offense ranks 73rd (26.00 pts) with the 99th ranked Rushing Defense (197 yds/gm). 

Will the Irish be able to contain Stanford's rushing attack?  

Last year Toby Gerhart broke a ridiculous amount of tackles on his way to a statistically absurd night against Notre Dame.  This year Gerhart is gone and the Irish are doing a much, much better job of tackling.  They won't stop Stanford, but they should be able to slow them down.

b. Notre Dame's Passing Offense is 8th nationally (318 yds/gm) and Stanford's Passing Efficiency Defense is 3rd nationally (74 yds/gm). 

Will Stanford be able to contain the Irish passing attack? 

I don't think so.  Stanford's defense, particularly that secondary, was not good last year, and they haven't been tested yet this year.  The only thing that's stopped the Irish attack have been Crist's absence or miscues.  If things continue at the rate they've been going, I'd say Notre Dame won't have problems putting points up.

c. Stanford gave up 170 yds rushing to UCLA and 265 yds rushing to Wake Forest.  Notre Dame has averaged 133 yds/gm so far.  

Do you expect Kelly to utilize the Irish rushing attack more? 

Only if the defense plays well.  If Stanford jumps up early and this turns into a shootout, it would take a lot of patience for Kelly to stick with the running attack.  I'd like him to, but realistically, I'd say he'll rely on Crist if things get sticky early.

d. Stanford is ranked 4th in Red Zone Defense (50%) while the Irish have the 65th ranked Red Zone Offense (82%).   Stanford's Red Zone Offense is tied for 1st (100%) in conversions and the Irish Defense's Red Zone conversions allowed is 36th (75%).  

Will the Irish be able to stop Stanford's RZ conversions and improve theirs?  How would you do that? 

Big plays by the top players.  Manti Te'o needs to hold onto those picks and Michael Floyd needs to stop fumbling at the goal line.  Andrew Luck is really, really good, and Notre Dame needs to get creative to keep him out of the endzone.  You can't ask for two better red zone weapons than Floyd and Rudolph, but Crist needs to a) keep the ball out of the stands and b) out of the hands of any Cardinal defenders if he wants to get that percentage up.

7. 1-2 is pretty tough to deal with for a football team still trying to find its identity.  Meanwhile, Stanford is looking like a well-oiled machine thus far.  Do you think this Irish squad can really bounce back from another heart-breaking loss against the Cardinal?  What if it's not all that close?

If I say no, does that mean the season will end up 4-8 or 3-9 and all hope will be lost?  I don't like to get into psychoanalyzing people on this blog, and I especially don't want to psychoanalyze dozens of them at a time, but I have faith in this coaching staff to keep things steady if the record drops to 1-3.  Perhaps it's only because the alternative is too grisly to linger on, but I'll maintain faith.